Encroaching Darkness
by darksupernatural
Summary: Sam and Dean hunt something that makes people disappear. Meanwhile someone who knows how to stop it is looking for their help. Is it too late to stop when it gets Sam? Can Dean look past his suspicions to let someone else help him help his brother?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Wow... Been gone nearly a year and I'm still getting hits, a few reviews(THANKS FOR THAT) and the random email asking "Where the heck you at?"**

**Answer: I'm still alive. New house, healed up husband, new job(well, all this last year anyway) LOST MUSE.**

**I don't know what made me stop, don't know if I just couldn't juggle everything for a while, or if I'd gone temporarily insane at reality's claws. Ouch!**

**Anyway, I'm feeling super sarcastic these days, trying to help my brother keep his son and his sanity, babysitting the next Einstein/Houdini/puppy eyes Sam in the form of said nephew Devin, paying bills and work work work, with a few minutes for sleep. Somewhere in there I managed to bang out this story on a laptop that gets turned on about once a month.**

**I really need to know that this is worth it. Maybe I will come back. Don't look for the same regular updates though. I get 2 days off a week and never a weekend so it will be whenever I wanna end the suspense of the cliffys to come. Enjoy, and please, please review!**

**Beware, there are a lot of artistic liberties taken with John's journal, my own OC and her life, and math! Don't read between the lines, you'll find spaces that bite back!**

**Encroaching Darkness**

**Book One: Olden Voices Calling**

**Prologue**

_**Nineteen years ago.**_

"_Lili! Run, baby! Run!" Michaela Delacroix cried, struggling against the large, dark man with the scary eyes. Lili took off, disappearing through the swinging door into the kitchen and out the back. She ran, tears streaming down her pale face until she cleared the threshold of the church. Inside, she ran up onto the alter and ducked beneath the satin cloth that covered the table there. She shook, clamping a hand over her small mouth to keep from crying aloud as she hunched into herself, tucking her knees against her chest. She sat as still as possible, cramming her fingers tight to her lips. Wisps of long black hair fell over her eyes. _

"_Lil, baby? It's momma. It's safe sweetie, come on out." The distant voice of her mother called. Lili sat up, fingers still tight to her mouth and she listened to the voice, a chill creeping up the back of her neck. Something was wrong with her mother. She felt it. She remained completely still, afraid to answer._

"_Christo." A deep voice came from roughly the same direction as her mother's, sounding slightly farther away._

_A gasp filled the tenseness of the church. "Hunter." Her mother's voice changed, growing thin and venomous. "That won't work on me." Lili jammed her fingers against her lips until she tasted the iron tang of her blood. She backed away, crab crawling until she bumped into the large square leg of the linen covered table. She sobbed once before biting her tongue._

"_We just want the girl. She is…so…special to us."_

"_Leave, hunter, and we'll let you keep your skin." A male voice said._

"_You're not gonna get'er." The hunter replied, the sound of water sloshing around in a metal container accompanied the hissing cry of the screaming male demon._

"_I'm going to rip the bones from your body!" the hollow sound of her mother's voice was overlaid with another, snake like, sound._

"_Don't think so." The hunter replied coolly, beginning a chant in a language Lili vaguely recognized. The demon shrieked and wailed, and Lili moved forward, laying on her belly to peek from beneath the long table cover. She watched as the strange man, the one who'd grabbed her mother, writhed and screamed, black smoke pouring from his mouth as his head flew back. The smoke dipped and swirled, before disappearing into a floor vent. The man's lifeless body fell away._

_The hunter flung something at her mother, a gray powder. Michaela Delacroix hissed, hands coming up to cover her face, the tone of her voice full of malice. The hunter began another chant as black streaks shifted and writhed beneath Michaela's skin, gathering under her hands until she lowered them, before disappearing into her eyes. They turned from the kind gray Lili loved to black voids, the whites red with blood. The hunter's chant intensified and he pulled a cloth wrapped torch from his pack. He lit it, brandishing it at Michaela. While he chanted and she screamed, the reedy sound making it a harpy like screech. Her eyes began steaming as the glow shone on her face, the flesh around them reddening and blistering. Her body slumped to the floor, her head rolling towards the table and gray eyes with bloody whites locking with her daughter's violet ones before the light left them, blistered skin still steaming._

"_MOMMA!" Lili screamed, her small body sliding from beneath the alter table and falling to her knees beside her mother's corpse. The hunter grabbed her and she snapped, writhing and kicking as she panted and screamed. "No LEMME GO! Let me go-!" The hunter slapped her and her head fell against his shoulder, eyes sliding closed._

"_I'm sorry, baby girl. I have no choice. There's still somethin' after you." The hunter cradled the ten year old girl to his chest and picked up his shotgun and the spotlight, hurrying out the back of the church and to his truck._

**Chapter 1**

"So why are we here again?" Dean asked, looking over the desolate stretch of two lane road with cracked, disintegrating pavement and pot holes that made him grimace in pain when his baby took the hit. Falling brown oak leaves stuck to the rain speckled windshield and Dean turned on the wipers to brush them away.

"There have been four disappearances along this stretch of the road in the last nine weeks. People just up and walk off into the woods. Last car was sideways in a ditch. Driver's door was wide open and he was just gone."

"Think somethin's luring them in?"

"It looks like it. They leave the engines running, radios on, the whole nine yards. It's like they just flake and go AWOL."

"Any bodies?"

"Nope."

"What do you think it is?"

"Gut feeling?"

"No, genius. Pure facts." Dean snapped as his baby hit another pot hole hard enough to make her suspension rattle.

"Hilarious." Sam rolled his eyes. "We need to do some research. Look around. Last victim disappeared just a little over a quarter mile up the road." Sam said, dropping his eyes to the open folder resting on the seat between them.

They drove in silence for a couple more seconds before Dean pulled the car off the road onto a wide spot on the shoulder. They got out and headed for the trunk, the clouds rolling overhead signifying to him that this was _not_ going to be fun. Dean opened the lid and reached for matching shotguns and some spare salt and iron cartridges. Sam loaded his gun and headed off to the edge of the shoulder, seeing tire tracks off at an odd angle. He crouched down and looked closely at the tracks.

"Dude, these are the last victim's tire tracks." He said, nodding in the direction of the prints on the bare, moist ground that the steady drizzle was steadily eating away.

_April 19,1991_

"_Okay Dean, line it up and take your shot." John whispered, watching his son handle his first personal gun, a small pistol with pretty impressive stopping power. "Wait until he's broadside so you can see your target, but don't hesitate too long. If this was a hunt, you'd need to be accurate but quick. Could be Sammy you'd be protectin'." Dean watched the deer come into sight, the big buck's head lowered as it nipped at tufts of spring grass peeking through last year's dead leaves. Dean's eyelashes bunched into dark peaks as the steady misting rain gathered on them. He blinked and watched the big animal turn broadside, lifting it's head briefly and scenting the air. John remained still while Dean cautiously sighted in the gun. The big buck saw the movement and took off, crashing through the underbrush. "Go after it Dean. You can't let it get away!"_

_Dean took off after the big buck, following the sign of it's passing, darting around broken, still waving branches. He turned the bend on the deer's trail and snagged his boot on an exposed root, the gun flying from his hands as the big buck turned and snorted, it's twelve point rack menacing with it's nearly twenty inch spread. Dean stopped short, scrambling to maintain his upset balance. Sam stepped out from behind a tree and snapped up the fallen gun, firing a shot before Dean realized he was there. The buck jumped, staggered once and fell. John broke through the trees, stopping short at the sight before him._

"_Sam?" he said, wondering how his almost eight year old got in the middle of the forest and wondering how he got his small hands on Dean's gun and felled a twelve point buck with one shot._

"_Dad, the deer took Dean's gun!" _

_John pulled the gun from Sam's hand and tucked it into his waistband before clutching his youngest by his upper arms, shaking him slightly. "Sammy, what the hell are you doing here? Thought I left you at Bobby's."_

"_I needed to find you and Dean." Sam said, his lower lip trembling. Frightened tears mixed with rain water slid down his face._

"_It's okay. It's okay. Now, how'd ya get here Sammy?"_

"_I woke up, an' the big black car was outside." John looked at his youngest. _Some damn stranger is always around my boy and now they think everything is out to hurt 'em. Bang up job as a daddy, Winchester_. _

"_Alright. We're goin' home." John let Dean keep an eye on Sam and he looped a coil of rope around the big buck's head at the base of it's horns, slinging the rope over his shoulder and hauling it's head up off the ground so that the tines of the antlers didn't dig into the dirt. He dragged the deer back to the trail head and the waiting truck that he'd borrowed from Bobby. The deer went in the bed and the boys in the cab and John headed back to his friend's salvage yard and the newest in a long line of temporary homes._

_Dean led Sam inside, with his father's words, "Go wash up, boys." following him in the door. Bobby looked up from the old book at the table when John came inside. "Got a twelve point on the truck Bobby. It…"_

"_John," Bobby interrupted his friend, "go see Silas."_

"_Silas?"_

"_Take the boys. I'll handle the deer." John nodded._

_John herded the boys into the Impala and headed off to Silas' house. When he parked in the drive Silas opened the door and motioned to him. Dean hung back with Sam while John stepped up to the man._

"_Silas?" John questioned as the other man stared at Sam. The youngest Winchester scooted slightly behind his brother as he locked blue-greens with Silas' odd, milky blue eyes._

"_I want to speak with Sam again. He's special John. You have no idea how." He said, not removing his gaze from the child._

"_Sam." John barked._

"_Sir?" Sam asked timidly. _

"_Silas wants to speak with you, son." Sam stepped from behind Dean and stopped short._

"_It's alright Sam." Silas said, approaching Sam. He put a hand comfortingly on Sam's shoulder. "Come on. I have cookies and milk."_

"_Dean, let's go on a supply run. Sammy, we'll be back in an hour." _

_The hour passed quickly and as John made the turn down the street to Silas' house, the black Seville passed the Impala. John glanced at the car in the rearview and stomped on the gas. Slamming the brakes seconds later, he spun the wheel and the car skidded into Silas' driveway. _

"_Sam?" John asked quickly, getting out of the car. "Why are ya out here, kiddo?" _

"_I talked with Mr. Silas for a while. He looked tired so I told him I'd wait for you out here."_

"_Stay here, boys." John's fingers closed on his gun where it was tucked in his waistband._

_John went inside and found his friend in pieces, scattered around his kitchen. John stopped and stared at the gore, the words "kill him" scrawled in blood across the cabinets over the range. John swallowed down a curse and left the house._

A cold wind came out of the trees, the clacking of branches becoming a steadily increasing cacophony of sound as it blew swirling leaves around them as if to fend them off. Sam's hair blew across his face as he and Dean exchanged worried glances, fingers automatically tightening around the triggers of their shotguns.

"I don't like this!" Sam said loudly, the wind whipping the words away as soon as they left his lips.

"Yeah, no kiddin'!" Dean cried, echoing his sentiment. Dean lifted his shotgun higher when the wind began to moan, fog seeping in around their ankles. A serpentine hiss accompanied the swirling fog. The hiss morphed slightly, gaining rhythm and forming words that seemed to hurt Sam's head. His vision doubled and his shotgun wavered. Dean saw him and stepped closer. "Sam?"

Sam held up a hand, stilling Dean, and straightened when movement from the darkness, a slightly lighter shadow in the gloom, caught his eye. He raised the shotgun, the reedy whispers and hissing growing in intensity as the shadow loomed closer.

"Dean…"

The wind buffeted them, pushing their pant legs tight against their shins. Dean shielded his eyes against the stinging gale, training his shotgun on the shadow. The shadow moved, staggering out of the darkness of the forest. Dean stepped in front of Sam, his shoulders back, automatically moving to shield his little brother from the unknown. The shotgun followed every movement of what Dean could now see was a man dressed in khaki pants and a rumpled white shirt, matching the rough description of the last victim.

Sam touched Dean's arm. "Dude, it's the last vic." Sam peered into the dimness to look the man over. "Hey buddy, ya alright?" He called, garnering no response from the man still making his way towards the brothers. The man's shaking hands moved up to cover his face as he moved drunkenly towards them. Dean stepped forward and raised a hand, the grip on the shotgun relaxing as it lowered slightly. He reached out to steady the man as he lurched into arm's reach.

"Drift we to the dead." The man muttered, his hands muffling his words, voice a raspy sound in the night, so low the sighing wind nearly drowned it out completely.

"What?" Dean asked.

The man dropped his hands, moonlight coming from behind the clouds illuminating his features. Black streaks like blood poisoning marched across his face and disappeared like pathways into his eyes. "Drift we to the dark!" the man snarled, lunging at Dean. Sam shoved his brother aside, the man's outstretched hand gripping his forearm in a painful, clawing grasp. Sam hissed as the stranger's bony fingers tore through his shirt. Sam's arm burned as the man spoke again, the flesh of his hand discolored by a black mass that seemed to crawl under his skin. The man yanked on Sam's arm and brought them face to face with punishing strength. His eyes bored into Sam's, the pupils dark voids surrounded by the once blue, taken over by black swirling streaks and bloody whites.

"Drift we to the dark!" The man screamed, his eyes shining a deep obsidian before slowly turning to a steaming, gooey mass leaking down over his cheeks. The stranger's vice like grip tightened and spasmed, clawed fingers digging deep and causing an acid like burn to course through Sam's veins. His ears began to ring and his vision grayed out at the edges. The man's reedy, hissing cry died off, his hand releasing it's grip before the lifeless body slumped to the ground, skin turning gray and withering before Dean's eyes. Sam gasped for breath, his legs folding beneath him. He followed the corpse to the ground, swaying on knees that seemed to be made of rubber.

"Sammy!" Dean cried, following Sam down. He gripped Sam's chin and lifted his head, the flashlight panning over his features. Sam cried out, closing his eyes and pulling his abused arm to his chest. He breathed raggedly. "What the hell was that?"

"Jus'… gimme a m-minute." Sam tried, still hugging his arm and panting for breath.

"Look at me." Dean said, tipping Sam's head up. "Hey, look at me."

Sam opened his eyes and looked at his brother, forcing his breathing to calm. "'m alright."

"You sure?"

Sam nodded and swallowed when his vision grayed. "Yeah. Help me up."

Dean pulled Sam to his feet and looped an arm around his shoulders. _Just in case. _Sam looked down at the dried out husk that was the last man to disappear. It didn't even look human. "What the hell happened to him?" Sam questioned.

"Dunno. Sure as hell don't like that the last thing he did was touch you before he screamed and his eyes melted out of his head." Dean shivered in disgust. "'M gonna get you back to the car and come back here for a little salt an' burn action."

"He's got a wife and twins looking for him, Dean."

"They aren't gonna want to see that."

Sam looked down again, seeing the shell of the man. Dean's voice receded to a buzzing in the back of Sam's mind. His arm throbbed and burned and he pulled it tight across his middle, hooking his thumb over his belt buckle. Dean tugged on Sam's jacket, settling his arm more securely across his own shoulders before heading back to the car. Dean opened the passenger door and settled Sam inside. "You sure you're alright?"

No answer came from Sam. "Sammy?"

"Yeah. I'm okay. Go take care of the vic. Jus'…be careful."

Sam leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes when he heard the trunk lid close and Dean's footsteps move away from the car. He opened his eyes and looked down at his burning arm. Lifting a shaking hand to part the torn fabric of his jacket and shirt, his eyes widened when he saw a darkening bruise in the shape of a hand print on his forearm several inches below his elbow.

His stomach lurched as the mark on his arm seemed to throb in time with his heartbeat. He watched the redness on his arm as the flesh swelled and bruises deepened slightly.

Sam dropped his hold on the fabric and straightened in the seat when the driver's door opened with it's familiar squeak, Dean sliding behind the wheel.

"That was fast." Sam said, clearing his throat and forcing his hammering heart to beat normally.

"Dude went up like paper." Dean responded quietly. He fired the Impala's engine and pulled out onto the road, heading towards the nearest town and a motel. "I wanna call Bobby in on this and see if we can figure out what freaky supernatural crap we're up against now."

**So there was chapter one. Please let me know I'm doing okay.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow, I'm glad so many of you responded to my pleas for a muse kicking to get back into this. Thanks for all the well-wishes and the welcome backs. Much appreciated. Please continue to let me know what you think because I'm still super nervous about posting again. **

**This chapter goes out to Nicole. You know who you are and thank you so much. Also, believe me when I tell you I know exactly what you mean. I could put my arm out beneath my sliding glass door, up to my shoulder. THROUGH. THE. FLOOR. And ours was a '76. The new house was only 47,000 dollars, and a dream come true, so best of luck!  
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**CHAPTER 2**

"_Mnn…" Lili's lavender eyes opened, blinking as the beamed ceiling above her came into focus, the dark wood shining in the light from the fireplace. A face swam into view above her. She pushed up on her elbows, breath slamming in and out of her lungs with a panicked, high pitched wheeze. She backed up on the bed until her slender back smacked the headboard. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" _

"_Lili, easy. I'm not gonna hurt you."_

"_NO! MOMMA!" A calloused hand closed over her mouth as strong arms wrapped around her. The voice whispered in her ear, familiar words with a rhythm that calmed the hammering of her heart instantly. Memories from long ago washed over her of her mother carrying her through the forest to a clearing by a small stream._

_ April 3, 1984_

"_She's beautiful." a voice said as a tall man with dark hair stepped out from behind a tree. "She looks just like you Kaela." He smiled as the shy three year old buried her olive toned face in her mother's dark hair._

"_I want you to promise me something, Brady." Michaela said as she sat Lili down on the blanket to play. Michaela looked at the hunter standing in front of her. Her best friend. A man she would have given everything for had the ancient ones not forbidden their love. _

"_You know I'll do anything for you and baby girl."_

"_When the time comes…I want you to take Lili. Keep her safe. Teach her what's out there and teach her how to protect herself when it comes for her."_

"_Kaela?" Nolan questioned the look in her eyes as Michaela glanced at her daughter.  
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"_Take her and teach her to have the strength she needs."_

"_The old ones talking again, Kaela?"_

"_More than that." Michaela looked at the hunter, worry darkening her lavender eyes to plum. "I've dreamed. The Darkness is coming."_

She stepped out into the night, her long dark hair blowing across her light violet eyes, as she watched the clouds blot out the stars in patches. She picked at a long, unpainted nail before absently toying with the fingerless leather glove that hugged her palm. Lili pushed her hair back from her face and straightened from her lean against the door frame of the cabin as a familiar presence made itself known to her.

Her adoptive father walked down the pathway to the small house, his limp letting her gauge how tired he was with a glance. She stepped out under the smattering of clouds and walked up to him, hugging the aged hunter. "How was the hunt?"

Nolan Brady looked at the girl he rescued eighteen years ago, nearly to the day, and had come to think of as his own. "Got the demon and got out. I'm getting too old for this."

"You should have let me help. I'm not a little girl anymore. I haven't been since mother…"

"I know girl. Come inside and let's talk." Lili smiled and allowed the old man to enter the cabin. He sat down in a hand made rocker, grunting when his joints protested. Lili salted the door automatically before going to her father and taking the shotgun and rock salt from his pack and stashing the weapons in their usual, easy access, places.

"Tell me about the hunt, father."

"Lili, something big is coming. I was exorcising the demon and he muttered something about gathering darkness." Lili stopped in her tracks, her back to Nolan. She turned, her violet eyes catching the firelight.

"Is that what it said? Gathering Darkness?"

Nolan nodded. Her face clouded over, eyes veiled and not letting him see what was going through her mind. "Why, baby girl? Why is that important to you?"

Lili came to Nolan's side and crouched beside him, her hand resting on the arm of the rocker. "Mother used to tell me the story of the Old Ones. She said that the Old Ones had a dream and told her that the darkness was gathering and that it would drift over the earth like…" Lili broke off and stood, rushing to the front window of the cabin. She looked out, up at the gathering clouds seeing the odd shapes in the high banks of gray wisps.

"…sails. Blotting out the stars and life with the calling of the olden voices and the mourning of the spirits."

"Lili?" Nolan turned to her, seeing the rigid, troubled set of her shoulders. "Ya think this is the same thing that took your Ma?"

"I pray to the spirits it's not." Lili muttered, her fingers toying with the hem of her glove.

She stared up at the sky, watching the clouds swallow the light from the centuries old stars that was finally just reaching her eyes. Nolan stood and walked up to her, planting his work worn hands on her shoulders.

"Lil, if it is, there's somethin' you need to know. And I have to tell you, because I'm not gonna be around forever."

"Don't talk like that."

"It's true, baby girl. Back then that thing, it wanted you bad. For what, I don't know. But it took your momma to get to you. I saw her, how she looked after it got her. You did too. I know you don't wanna remember, but you have to. You have to fight it. Lil, I think if this… Darkness gets you… it's gonna get bad. Ya have to fight it baby girl. You have to know what you're up against and how to stop it."

Nolan dropped his hands from her shoulders and turned away, lumbering into the bedroom. Lili heard a scratching sound and Nolan returned with a beaten curse box in his hands.

"This is everything I have about that night. It's also a list of contacts I had a long time ago. The omens I tracked to find you that night are in there too." Nolan put the box on the small, scarred table top and took a step back, a grimace crossing his face as he watched her violet eyes light on the box, trepidation crossing her features at the thought of finding out about her past. He coughed and leaned against the back of one of the chairs at the table. Lili's fingers reached for the box. She slid it across the table towards her and opened the bolt holding it shut with a click that sounded deafening in the silent room. She looked at Nolan, feeling like the scared ten year old girl all over again.

Nolan's right hand came up and worked over his left bicep, massaging out a spasm. "Go ahead. Ya need… need to know, b-baby girl." Lili pushed back the lid of the curse box, jumping slightly as the lid landed against the table top with a wooden _thunk. _

Lili looked into the curse box, seeing something very familiar. It was her mother's charm bracelet. The hammered silver beckoned to her, runes carved into the delicate surfaces of the dangling circles. Lili pulled it from the box, her eyes welling as it caught the firelight and glowed. She looked at Nolan.

"Thank you for this." She said, holding it out. The aged hunter took the clasps in his calloused but still deft hands and fastened it on her wrist. The silver disks jangled musically when Lili lowered her wrist. She lifted old looking papers from the box, seeing sigils that she vaguely recognized from her mother's teachings. She unfolded the yellowed papers and looked over them carefully, the Old Ones' language coming back to her, rhythmic chants humming through her blood as she read the papers.

She sat them aside and pulled out a small brown leather bound journal, opening the tab that held the book closed. It was her real father's journal. Nolan watched the wonder playing over Lili's features, his eyes misting over as her long fingers tightened around the binding of the book.

The hunter coughed softly, pain radiating up his arm and piercing his chest. He moaned and Lili's head snapped up.

"Father?" Nolan gripped the front of his shirt, fingers clenching in the material as his breath left his lungs. His knees buckled and Lili eased him to the wooden floor of the cabin. "Father!"

"B-baby girl?" Nolan felt himself shifted so that his head rested on her knees.

"Don't you leave me here alone." Lili said, tears brimming in her violet eyes.

"Tol' ya …wouldn't be…around forever."

"No. Don't talk like that." She wiped tears away angrily, the jangle of her mother's bracelet making the old hunter smile.

"Lil, you don't know…this….but your momma… she was one of my…best friends." His eyes squeezed shut, tears trickling from the corners. "Ya…look jus' like'er, baby girl."

"Don't you leave me."

"The box…in the bottom. My contacts. Find W-Winchester an' Singer. They… can … help…" Nolan's eyes slipped closed and his breath left his lips on a soft _whoosh._ Lili sobbed once, burying her head in the hunter's still chest.

"I'm grateful." Lili began speaking in a language she hadn't spoken since her lessons at her mother's side. It flowed from her lips as if she'd been speaking it her entire life.

"_Akana mukav tut le Devlesa."_

She continued, wished her father well on his journey with the spirits and stood, gathering the box in her arms, along with the canister of salt and the shotgun. Outside the cabin Lili put her box and the gun in her truck and returned to the front porch, reaching for the red metal can of gasoline for the generator. She tipped the jug and allowed some of the contents to spill just inside the door, before dousing the front walls, the generator and wooden foundation of the only home she wanted to remember. She tipped the can of salt and spread a line across the doorway.

**_ June 29, 1993_**

_Lili heard a metallic jangle as she looked up from the book she was reading. Her father leaned against the door jamb, a key ring dangling from his fingers. "C'mon outside, Lil."_

_Lili stood and followed her father outside the small cabin they called home. Nolan looked at her as she walked toward the 1956 Chevy. The two-tone truck, black and gun metal metallic shone in the sunshine. Its chrome mirrors and bumpers gleamed, the small extras setting off the new paint. Lili walked around the side of the truck, watching as the light played off the metal flake contained within the silver middle stripe on the truck. She saw the symbols contained in the glimmering flecks and she moved one more step, seeing the design appear along the body lines. Combinations of Latin, Romani and something she didn't quite recognize formed a web of protection that was nearly invisible, surrounding the truck and working to protect the occupants._

"_It's beautiful! Father…so much work in the design."_

"_It's yours, Baby girl."_

"_What? N-no, I can't…"_

"_You can, Lili. I restored her for you." Nolan gripped her hand, placed the keys in her palm, closing her fingers over them. _

"_But I can't even drive."_

"_Well then, it's time you learn." The man's eyes crinkled as he smiled as his daughter, watching her smooth a hand delicately over the paint on the truck, walking from the front where they stood, all the way to the back bumper before turning around and flashing a brilliant grin at her father. Her eyes shifted from her father to the back bumper and she stopped smiling, lavender orbs growing wide before filling with tears._

_On the tailgate of the truck an ornate cross was worked, nearly invisibly, into the pattern. In the crosspiece was the word "Michaela." Lili breathed. The tears broke over her cheeks as she turned from the truck and ran into Nolan's outstretched arms. "Oh Father, thank you!"_

Lili's eyes blurred at the memory and she screamed, a war cry of hatred and loss, whipping the canister of salt into the cabin. She turned, trailing dripping fuel down the front stairs. She tossed the empty can aside and pulled an old silver Zippo from her pocket, flicking the striker over the flint and dropped it at the source of the fuel trail. It caught with a whoosh and Lili pulled out of the driveway as the interior of the cabin turned into a conflagration. She flinched several seconds later when the full tank of the generator blew her past to oblivion.

"Bobby. Um… Hey."

"Dean?" Bobby's voice was concerned, picking up on something in Dean's tone. "Sam okay?"

"I'm not real sure Bobby."

"What happened, boy?"

"We were looking into a possible hunt and something happened to him. We were in the woods and this…dude, one of the guys who'd disappeared, comes out of the woods and attacks us. He was goin' for me and Sammy stopped him. The dude just ripped through Sam's jacket and shirt and scratched his arm. Grip was enough to bruise Sammy, bad. Then he just screamed and his eyes melted." Dean turned away from the window where he had moved. "Sammy's sleepin' now."

"Tell me everything that happened. Every minute." Bobby said, something nagging at him and worrying him…badly. The older hunter listened to what Dean had to say and promised to do some research on his end. He finally hung up after getting Dean's promise to get Sam to him if anything changed.

Dean tossed his phone on the bed haphazardly and went to Sam's side, sitting on the edge of the bed his too young looking brother occupied. He ran a hand down over his face and sighed. Dean reached a hand out and brushed his brother's wayward locks back from his face, feeling mild warmth radiating beneath his palm. "What the hell's goin' on with you?" He watched Sam a moment longer and then stood, moving to where the coffee pot rested on the counter in the kitchenette of the room. He ran water into the pot and set it up, listening to it begin to gurgle as he turned it on. The smell of rich coffee soon filled the room as Dean spread the case research out over the table. He poured a cup of hot coffee and sat it down on the only bare spot left on the small table, glancing at Sam as his head shifted. The youngest Winchester moaned slightly.

_I had to have missed something._ Dean thought as he sat in front of his research.

The black and gunmetal truck pulled into Bobby's lot, catching his attention as a vehicle he'd never seen before. He eased out from under the hood of the smoky blue '87 Monte Carlo he was overhauling and wiped his hands on the grease rag he had sitting on the radiator shroud. He watched as the dust settled and the driver's door opened. The top of a head of smooth dark hair was just visible over the roof line. Finally a young woman walked around the front of the truck and approached him. She moved completely silently, watching everything around her, watching him… the complete demeanor of a hunter.

"Can I help ya?" He asked the young woman, appraising her. She was no older than Dean. Barely thirty, with a depth to her eyes way older than her years.

"Bobby Singer?"

"That's the name." Bobby turned back to the Monte Carlo, deciding that the young woman wasn't a threat to him, but more that him watching her was about to make her bolt.

"I need to find John Winchester."

"Why?"

"My father told me to find you, and John Winchester, just before he died." Bobby didn't acknowledge her response, tightening the battery cables on the Monte, preparing to fire the rebuilt engine for the first time.

"My father was Nolan Brady." Bobby jumped at the name, banging his head off of the hood of the car, knocking his trucker's cap askew. He cleared his throat and turned back to her, adjusting his hat with a greasy hand.

"You're Lili." The girl nodded, her fingers absently tugging at her glove, making the silver discs on the bracelet she wore jangle as they caught the South Dakota sun, glinting brightly.

"Please. I need to find John Winchester. Father told me you could help."

"John Winchester died a couple years back."

Lili swallowed and looked down, her disappointment evident, but not as strong as the fear Bobby sensed coming from her.

"Look, kid, c'mon inside. We'll talk." Lili nodded and moved to follow Bobby inside the house, stopping to retrieve something from the truck. Bobby held the screen door open for her and she skirted by him.

"Do you know when father found me?"

"Yep. I helped ol' Nole get the papers 'e needed to adopt ya."

"Then you know he was there the night Momma died. He saved me from something. Something inside her that wanted me."

"I know the story well enough."

"It's back."

Bobby stared at the young woman, not doubting her one bit. "I need to make a call."

Dean sat up with a snort, a vivid hand print complete with the outline of his ring on his cheek. His phone was playing music in the background. He lunged from the chair, grabbing the phone as it ceased ringing. He was about to flip it open to return the call when it started ringing again. He nearly dropped it. Flipping it open, he ran a hand over his mouth, thumb and forefinger across the corners, and spoke.

"Yeah?"

"_It's Bobby."_

"Yeah, Bobby?"

"_Is Sam awake?"_

Dean looked across the bed at his brother. "No Bobby. He's a little restless, but he hasn't woken up."

"_Look Dean, ya need to pack 'im up and get yer asses to my place ASAP."_

"Why?" Dean asked, the urgency in his old friend's tone worrying him.

"_Don't question me, just get here…Now." _Bobby cut the call.

Dean shut his phone and tucked it in his pocket. He moved to the bed and leaned over, shaking Sam awake.

Sam moaned and tried to push Dean away, burying his head in the pillow as he rolled onto his side. He gasped and shot up on the bed, his eyes wide as he hugged his arm to his chest. "Fuck." He breathed.

"Sam?" Dean sat down on the bed beside him, turning his younger brother to face him. "Talk to me dude. What the hell's wrong?"

"Argh…my arm. Feels like its on fire."

"Where that thing touched you?" Dean grabbed Sam's arm, prying it away from his middle. "Let me see." Dean shoved Sam's loose shirt sleeve up to his elbow, taking in the vivid bruising, the black mass of Sam's flesh.

"What the fuck?" Dean exclaimed, touching the edge of the bruising. Sam winced and tried to pull back.

"Ow…Dean, that hurts."

"I'm gonna get the med kit, put _something _on this. Then we have to hightail it for Bobby's. He's pretty insistent."

Dean grabbed for the medical kit stowed with his gear, reaching inside for some supplies. He pulled out the small flask of Holy Water, reaching for Sam again. "See what this does."

"Besides making me want to rip my arm off?" Sam deadpanned.

"Funny." Dean said, even as he worried that was exactly what was about to happen. Dean tipped the flask over Sam's arm, drizzling holy water onto the blackened flesh. It sizzled, Sam's cry drowning out the bubble of the liquid. The youngest Winchester's head tipped back, panting, crying out. Sam tried to pull his arm back, thrashing as he screamed, Dean's heart hammering in his chest as he pinned Sam's arm and continued to pour the water over the bruise, the skin foaming.

"Easy, easy, easy." Dean chanted as Sam fought the burn of the holy water. Dean held fast to the arm, Sam's skin turning white around Dean's tight fingers. Sam bucked, shoving Dean off the edge of the bed. The flask hit the floor as Dean landed with a grunt. Sam bolted from the bed, moving away from Dean, moving into the dimly lit corner of the room. He slid down the wall, cowering, a shaking hand pulling his arm to his chest. Dean stood and made his way to his brother, crouching next to him, reaching tentatively for Sam, stopping when he flinched.

"Sammy?"

Sam backed away from Dean, back tapping off the wallpaper. He keened low in his throat as he rocked slightly, hugging his arm tight. "Sam?" Dean said, grabbing Sam's shoulders. The whimper grew louder, Dean's heart breaking at the sound. "C'mon, Sammy. It's okay." Dean hauled his brother to him, lifting the still whimpering Sam to his feet.

"It hurts. I can feel it…crawling." Sam began to scratch at his arm as Dean lowered him back to the bed.

"Stop it Dean! Stop it. God, I can feel it!" Sam dug deep into his arm, blood welling around his nails.

"Sammy stop!" Dean grabbed his hand, pulling the bloody digits away from his arm. Dean's eyes looked over the damage, seeing the black mass as it moved beneath Sam's skin. "Fuck! Okay, c'mon. We're goin to Bobby's. We need help." Dean pulled Sam upright, grabbing their bags and the car keys one handed and yanked Sam outside into the bright morning sunshine.

Sam cried out, trying to pull out of Dean's grasp. He squirmed and bucked against Dean, before making it free. He hit his knees, both hands shooting up to his face, digging his fingers deep into his eyes. Sam hunched in on himself, clawing at his face.

"SAM!" Dean barked, crouching beside Sam. He tried to pull Sam's hands away from his eyes. "SAM, STOP!"

"God, help me… D-Dean." Sam moaned. Dean jerked his arms out of his sleeves and threw his leather jacket over Sam's head, pulling his brother close. Sam sagged in Dean's arms, his head under the jacket, breathing hard.

"Sammy?" Dean questioned, pulling Sam's head up, but not lifting the jacket.

"'M okay." Sam breathed, his words muffled and slurred.

"Alright. Up ya go." Dean said, hauling Sam to his feet. The oldest Winchester steadied Sam until he felt him take a small step, then Dean walked Sam to the Impala and eased him into the back seat. Sam kept the familiar leather over his head, leaning against the door panel. Dean slid into the driver's seat and fired the engine, pulling onto the road.

Dean glanced in the rear view mirror, seeing Sam crouched in the back, the leather coat still over his head. Dean could see tremors working through Sam's body. "You alright?" He questioned.

Sam didn't respond to him, instead just muttering something unintelligible from beneath the jacket. "Hey, answer me, Sam."

Dean strained his hears when he heard Sam move in the back, eyes on the road. He heard Sam's voice, quiet and haggard, muffled. "I can hear them…"

"What?" He said, glancing up and back to the curvy two lane highway.

"Like a voice…voices, whispers…scratches on a record…" Sam moaned, a small whining sound, like Dean heard when Sam was nine and badly sick with the flu. He hunched in on himself, the jacket dragging his knees. Sam began to rock back and forth, looking like a deep brown cartoon ghost. Sam made small musical noises, humming low in a chanting rhythm.

"Sammy?" Dean watched Sam for a second longer.

Sam broke off the rhythm and gave a strangled sound from beneath the jacket, throwing himself back against the seat. Dean crossed the double yellow line and pulled into a wide spot on the shoulder, slamming the shift lever into park. The engine idled as Dean pushed his way into the back seat with his brother. Dean grabbed Sam by the shoulders and held him still as he began to writhe.

"Sam!" Dean cried, holding his brother. Sam's head flew forward, the creak of leather getting louder as Sam's forehead plowed into Dean's cheekbone, pain exploding in Dean's face. He grunted and held Sam tighter, ignoring the rapidly blossoming swelling beneath his left eye. Sam's breath caught, a high keening sound growing in the interior of the car. Sam wailed as Dean wrapped his arms tight around him, holding him still, the leather coat pulled tightly over his head. "Hey! HEY! Sam, you're alright. Stop it, Sammy!"

Dean wrestled his fidgeting brother back onto the seat once more, at a loss as he suddenly stopped fighting and slumped against him. "Sam?" Dean eased his little brother against the door panel and took the jacket off his head, laying it close by. Sam's face was pale, sweat beaded on his brow and upper lip, lines of pain ringing his mouth and closed eyes. Dean brushed Sam's tangled, damp hair back from his face and checked his pulse. "'M gonna get you to Bobby's." Dean moved from the back seat, sliding back behind the wheel. He pulled the shifter down into gear and swerved onto the road, tires barking as they went from the soft shoulder to the pavement. He glanced toward the rearview mirror, just catching a glimpse of his brother's sweaty face before casting his eyes back to the road.

**January 24, 1997**

"_Hey Dean?"_

"_Yeah Dad?" Dean said around a mouthful of cold pizza, his head still inside the confines of the refrigerator. The motor of the machine rumbled as the ancient compressor kicked in._

"_Come here, son." John said, putting his journal and research aside. He lowered his pen to the scarred table top and reached into his pocket as he watched his son step up to the table. "Sit down." John ordered. Dean instantly complied, pulling out the cracked vinyl chair and falling into it._

"_Yeah?" _

"_So." John said, a smile dimpling his salt and dark stubble. Dean remained silent, watching his dad._

"_Happy Birthday, son."_

_Dean smiled. "Thanks, Dad."_

_John's smile faded. "I know I didn't getcha anything. With this hunt…and the trail for the thing that killed your mother gone cold, I just…"_

"_You didn't have to get me anything…"_

"_No. Hear me out Dean. I didn't get you anything because I already have what I want to give you." John pulled his hand up onto the table and Dean caught the muffled clank of metal on metal concealed in John's loose fist. He watched as his dad opened his fingers and let a key ring dangle from his thumb. "She's yours Dean. I taught you everything there is to know about that car and I expect you to take care of her."_

"_You're kidding." Dean said, his chin dropping._

"_Nope. She's yours. Just remember she's your home. She depends on you to take care of her, and you are gonna depend on her to keep ya safe, to keep Sammy safe, someday. Treat her right."_

"_Yes, Sir. You know I will."_

Dean glanced in the rearview mirror as he heard Sam pulling in a breath, allowing himself to surface from one of his best memories. Sam's head rolled against the door panel and Dean stepped on the gas, willing his baby to carry him a little closer to South Dakota, just a little bit faster.

"So that's how Nole came across ya?"

Lili lifted her violet eyes from the surface of the tea in front of her. "Father was mother's best friend. As a hunter, the old ones forbade mother anything other than a distant friendship with him. I think there was more there, between them, but the old ones felt that his presence would bring evil among us."

"Nolan was a good man, damn fine hunter. I'm sorry, kid."

_** April 12, 1993**_

"_Hold the bow, Lil." Nolan said as he instructed the twelve year old in target shooting. Lili's thin hands held the compound bow, already toned arms pulling back on the string, holding the bow steady. One eye squinted shut and her teeth worried her lower lip. _

"_Open your eyes Lili. You can only see your adversary if your eyes are on it." Lili opened both eyes wide, determination shining in the amethyst depths. She let the arrow fly and smiled when it buried itself deep in the yellow ring to the right of the red center circle. "Again." Nolan said. Lili reached into the quiver at her shoulder blade and pulled another arrow, notching it. She shot and again the arrow hit the target, this time to the left and just outside the red. "Again." _

Thwack. _"Again."_

Thwack. _"Again." _Thwack, thwack, thwack.

_Lili let bolt after bolt fly and by the time the full quiver was empty her fingers were bleeding, she had a bowstring burn across the inside of her left elbow and was sweating and out of breath. The bulls eye was covered with fledged arrows, looking like a bouquet of neon orange flowers. Right in the center an arrow stuck out twice as far, the tip perfectly lodged in the split nock of the one in front of it. Lili lowered the _bow, _a sheen of perspiration on her slim arms and her forehead. She beamed at her father, the hum of excitement making her eyes a vibrant lavender. Nolan put an arm around Lili's shoulder, squeezing affectionately._

"I was lucky to have him. He taught me so much." Lili stood from the worn chair and paced to the window, where she leaned a hip against the low sill and looked up at the sky, to the clouds that lurked, low and gray, trying valiantly to blot out the sinking evening sun.

"You really are worried, aren't ya girl?"

"I think it's gonna get bad." Lili said, her soft accent showing as her breath fogged the glass.

Bobby opened his mouth to speak and his phone rang. He reached for it, seeing Lili stand straight and move away from the window out of the corner of his eye. "Hey kid. How's Sam?"

"_Not good Bobby. He's runnin' a fever, hearing things."_

"The spot on the boy's arm?"

"_It's getting bigger, black. Bobby, it looks like he's… I dunno, got blood poisoning or something."_

"How far out are ya?"

"_A couple hours, tops."_

"Be careful Dean. Sam's liable to be a little bit…off…as this goes on."

"_What do you mean, Bobby?"_

"Just be wary, son." Bobby ended the call before Dean could question him further. Dean dropped the phone on the seat beside him and glanced in the rear view, catching a glance of the leather covered lump in the back seat. Sam was quietly humming some sort of chanting melody, rocking back and forth. Dean didn't like what was happening to his brother. Or how ominous Bobby's final words were. He laid his foot on the accelerator and pushed until the pedal wouldn't yield any more.

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Will try for more after the Thanksgiving Holiday/tiring 1st birthday party for my nephew. Please leave me a review! It only takes a second and makes my day!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks as always to the people I can always count on to be there for me. Vonnie, ST, MysteryMadchen, Nana56, Madebyme, and other wonderful reviewers. Thanks for the support. Still not happy with this story but I've decided that I'd just post and let it ride instead of tweaking myself into insanity.**

**On the home front here: MY BROTHER GOT SOLE CUSTODY OF HIS SON! Thank God, for I have no doubt that if someone else had gotten him, he wouldn't be in our lives at all. We all had to wonder at the Judges' observations on how a mother who said she loves her son would just give up the fight for him halfway through the hearing. No questions for us, no calling us liars, no tears when she lost... just... nothing. Just lots of threats and slander on Facebook now. IT'S NOT AS PRIVATE AS YOU THINK!  
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**Don't own anyone but Lili. Again, _warnings for artistic liberties and no talent_. Also, watch out for the holes in this that are probably big enough to swallow you whole.  
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**CHAPTER 3**

Dean finally breathed easier when the arch proclaiming Singer Salvage Yard with it's peeling white paint and the protection sigils Dean had helped Bobby carve the summer when he was eleven, a few years before the falling out between Bobby and John, came into view. He glanced for the umpteenth time in the rear view mirror, seeing Sam's face cast in shadow where the interior of the car blocked the light of the crescent moon. Pain lines were cast in stark relief around Sam's mouth when the car passed beneath one of Bobby's security lights, making him whine.

"Easy Sam." Dean muttered reassuringly, casting a last glance before he pulled the Impala in next to what he thought was Bobby's latest restoration, and a beautiful classic Chevrolet pickup. Dean barely spared the truck a glance though as he pulled as close to the porch as he could in an effort to make it easier to get Sam to safety.

Dean pushed himself from the seat, turning to the back door. He vaguely heard Bobby's screen door screech open and bang closed and a rapid succession of footsteps as Bobby quickly joined him at the car. Dean smiled sadly and quickly cast his attention back to his brother, reaching in and clasping his hand to the side of Sam's neck. His thumb worked over Sam's warm flesh over his pulse.

"Hey, Sammy, wake up." Dean watched Sam's eyelids flutter. "That's it, dude." Dean shifted his leather jacket from where it rested around Sam's shoulders. Sam's eyes opened slowly, blinking until awareness crept in.

"Dean?" Sam said around a yawn, stretching slightly.

"Hey, y'alright?" Sam flinched when his fist bumped off the interior of the car.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Sammy, don't you remember what happened?"

"I dunno. My arm hurts but it feels like a really weird dream. What did happen, Dean?"

_ May 2, 1996_

"_Dad?" _

"_What, Sammy?" John asked, not looking up from the dusty tomes scattered in front of him._

"_Can…can I talk to you?" Something in Sam's tone had John looking up at his son._

"_Yeah, son." Sam eased into a chair, a grateful sigh escaping his lips. _

"_I've been having these dreams."_

"_You're brother told me." The thirteen year old appeared startled for a second._

"_Well…I feel like I'm missing something."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_In my dreams, I see someone. A beautiful woman. She's smiling down at me and then she just…disappears."_

_It was John's turn to appear startled. "She disappears?"_

"_Yeah. I feel like something happens to her, like I should remember what happened. But no matter how hard I try, I can't. I wish I could remember!"_

"_The time will come when you will."_

"_Yeah, maybe." Sam said, dejected. He turned and walked towards the small bedroom that he and his brother shared, shoulders hunched, hair in his eyes. John's eyes watched his youngest retreat, realizing once again that there was something different about his boy._

Dean looked at his brother, seeing the tightness in the lines around Sam's eyes and mouth, and his pale, compressed lips as Sam looked back. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. A little tired, maybe."

Dean reached in and helped Sam out of the car, steadying him as he swayed. The youngest Winchester finally seemed to realize that his old friend was there too. "Guess I'm a little more tired than I thought." Sam muttered, leaning slightly on his brother. He smiled sheepishly at Bobby.

"Lets getcha inside." Dean said.

"I wanna look at that arm, boy."

"Let's get 'im inside first."

"Dean…"

"Bobby, please." Dean growled. His eyes instantly softened with regret. "I…"

"'S alright, boy. Let's get yer brother inside."

Dean turned towards the steps to the house and led his brother up them slowly. They banged through the screen door and Dean eased Sam down on the couch, Sam's harsh breathing the only sound in the room.

"Wow." Sam huffed. "What the hell?" Sam hunched in on himself, hugging his arm.

"Sammy?" Dean said, hunkering down into a crouch beside Sam.

"He's feeling the infection." A female voice said from the corner of the room.

Dean's eyes shifted to take in the newcomer. "Who the f-" Dean barely censured himself as he realized he was so preoccupied with Sam that he didn't realize that she was standing there, "are you?"

"Her name's Lili. Boys, we have to talk."

Dean and Sam moved to the table in Bobby's study. Lili moved to stand beside the fireplace, picking up a small black bag containing herbs. She sprinkled some in the orange flames, watching as they briefly flared purple and blue. A rich, spicy smell filled the room.

Sam sat down at the table and rubbed at his eyes with his good hand before propping his chin in his palm and huffing a sigh. His affected arm stayed closely protected at his waist.

"I helped an old friend adopt Lili here, when she was just a whelp. Somethin' killed 'er ma, and a hunter was there t'help." Bobby explained.

"And Nolan Brady raised me like his own. Taught me how to fight what is out to get me because of what I am, the power that I can give the ancient enemy of my race." Lili said, still leaning against the mantle of the fireplace, fingers toying with her mother's bracelet, the soft jingle of the silver discs nearly drowned out by her low voice.

"Come again?"

"I am _Chovihani._ A line of ancient witches that your people often mistakenly referred to as Gypsies."

"You're a witch?" Dean growled, bolting to his feet with so much speed that his chair clattered to the floor. He automatically moved in front of Sam, fingers twitching towards the knife concealed at his belt.

"Dean." Sam said, chair scraping across the wood floor. He gripped his brother's shoulder from behind.

"I know what you are." Sam said, looking at her, an odd expression crossing his features. Lili stood straight, lavender eyes catching the firelight. Lili lunged towards the fire, hand scooping up the cooling ash at the edge of the fire. She threw the handful of ash at Sam, the pungent smell of burned herbs filling the room. Bobby reached to restrain Sam as he gave a serpentine hiss. The black mass swirled under his skin and he threw out a hand, catching Bobby across the jaw and knocking the older man backwards into the sturdy table. He slumped to the floor.

"Sam!" Dean cried as Sam ran from the room. Dean rushed after him and banged through the door to see Sam disappear into the moonless night, moving as if it were broad daylight.

"Dean wait!" Lili cried, grabbing the hunter by the arm and stopping him from following his brother into the darkness. Bobby stumbled out the door behind them, handkerchief pressed to a seeping scratch on his cheek.

"I gotta go after him!"

"Dean, we're not ready for what has him! If you want to get him back, we have work to do."

"There's only been a handful of times I've seen that kid scared. He's tough as nails. There's part of him that's _freaked. _And that _thing_ is keepin' me from helping him! I am not gonna let it "

_ June 21, 1992._

"_Dean!" Sam screamed, his feet tangled in the worn covers that kept him warm in the drafty apartment. Dean sat up on the bed at his brother's cry, seeing the youngest Winchester panting, tears streaming down his pale face, wide eyes on the door across from his bed. "Daddy! Daddy!" the nine year old cried. John came running into the room, pistol in hand, eyes bloodshot, reeking of his latest all night talk with Jim, Jack and José. _

"_Sammy, what the hell?" John asked, eyeing his youngest son, the older one crowding his shaking brother close._

"_Daddy, there's something in the closet! I saw it open the door." Sam said, pointing a trembling finger at the warped door. _

"_Aw, Chri- Sam…" John lowered the gun and ran a hand back through his dark hair._

"_Sammy, nothin' opened the door." Dean said, gripping Sam's arm reassuringly and lowering his fingers to the blanket bunched at his small waist._

"_But, I saw it!" Sam cried, pointing at the door again and looking at his dad as another tear ran down his cheek. "Why don't you believe me?" Sam sniffled miserably._

"_Look, I'll check the closet, okay?"_

_Sam nodded, another sniffle breaking the sudden silence of the room. He crowded closer to Dean, laying his head on his brother's shoulder and peeking over the bulky fabric of Dean's pajama shirt. John skirted to the side of the door, turning the handle with a muffled squeak. He threw open the door and cleared the small space with a sweep of the pistol. He turned and closed the door._

"_There's nothin' in there Sammy."_

"_B-but…"_

"_Damnit, Sam…" John started, only for Dean to cut him off, speaking softly to his little brother._

"_It's okay Sammy. Dad said there's nothin' there. See, it's scared of him. Already ran away." Dean said._

"_I'm still scared, De."_

_John sighed, stepping closer to his kids. "Here, Sam. This will help." John put a hand behind his back and produced a pistol._

"_Dad, your .45?" Dean questioned. John flipped the pistol comfortably in his hand, holding it butt first out to his youngest._

"_Here, kiddo. Next time you see the thing in your closet, you know what to do."_

_Sam eyed the gun with awe, nodding his head. John double checked the safety on the gun and put it in Sam's small hands. "Keep it close. You know what it can do so you be damn careful, you hear me?"_

"_Yes, Sir." Sam said, his tears drying on his cheeks._

"_Good boys. Get some sleep, we're target shooting in the morning. Sam, you'll start usin' that gun."_

"_Yes, Sir." The boys echoed._

"We'll find him, Dean. And we'll help him." Lili said, her bracelet jangling as she brushed her long dark hair back over her shoulder. "The Darkness is calling to him. It will force him to seek it out, to give in."

"Where'll it make him go?"

"Somewhere dark, someplace that reeks of evil, of death. Someplace that the wraith can draw that to it, to feed from it. That's where it will take Sam over."

"I know where he'll go." Bobby said.

"Where?"

"The graveyard at the other end of town."

"Why there?" Lili asked.

"Been tryin' to stop the crap that's happenin' in that hole for a few weeks. Can't narrow down what's doin it yet. Kids bein' sucked in, possessed. Sacrificin' animals, other kids. One brutal place."

"Let's go get him!" Dean said, heading for the Impala. Lili and Bobby followed, all climbing into the big black car. Dean fired the engine and pulled out, the tires spitting gravel behind them. He slowed down when he approached the road at the end of the drive and Lili lowered her window, shining a flashlight into the distance, searching for movement, trying to find Sam among the buildings, bushes and trees.

"We'll never catch 'im in town. We just haf'ta beat him to the cemetery and set up a trap." Bobby said, fingers gripping the top of the seat back as he looked out the windshield between Dean and Lili.

The engine rumbled and Dean headed to the opposite end of town.

Fog snaked in around the tombstones, some looking like they'd been placed just days ago and others like they'd crumble to dust at the barest touch. Moisture clung to engraved black granite and stamped concrete slabs indiscriminately. Somewhere a cricket chirped, leaves rustled and an owl hooted. The moon was barely there, a sliver looking like a cat's eye in a halo of clouds. The three made their way through the tombstones toward the church. Shadows grew as tombstones became more like towers, huge carved spires of marble and granite. Imposing statues of angels with wings spread wide, stained by years of neglect and weather making many of them appear to be crying as old water stains combined with the moisture beading in the night air. Dean took point, signing to Bobby and Lili to stay close, opting to search for Sam as a group, instead of leaving themselves vulnerable to a Sam that wasn't their Sam.

Dean stepped into the shadows of a large mausoleum, stopping instantly when he caught a brief rustling that wasn't the normal night sounds. In fact he heard nothing normal about the night sounds. The cricket had disappeared, even the wind died completely. The moon was smothered by a huge bank of clouds, completely blocking any source of light. The dew that had accumulated on the stones, the grass, stopped reflecting it's light and instead looked like miniature black holes as they seemed to echo the blackness around them. Bobby reached for the flashlight on his hip. Lili grabbed his arm and stopped him. Dean took another step into the darkness and a form flashed out of the shadows, sprinting through the maze of tombstones like it was a racetrack. "Sam!" Dean cried, taking off after his brother.

"Dean, wait!" Bobby cried. Lili and The older hunter moved cautiously through the tombstones, going after Dean. They heard him call for Sam again in the distance ahead of them.

"You know this is a trap right?" Lili asked Bobby.

"All we can do is not let it get sprung."

Dean rounded the corner of a large mausoleum and pulled up short. Sam was there, only feet in front of him.

"Sammy?"

Sam jumped at the sound of the voice, startled. He hissed as he spun on Dean, a thin moan overlaid by another sound, one that chilled Dean to the bone.

Sam's eyes focused on Dean, the whites bright around irises that were teal green infused with streaks of black that seeped into the pupils and made them seem like dark, stormy seas. Sam's face appeared to morph and darken before Dean's eyes, black streaks shifting under his skin. Dean grabbed Sam's arms in a gentle grip.

"You've been poisoned or somethin' Sammy. We're gonna figure this out. Getcha back to normal." Sam spun away from Dean's grasp, shrinking into the doorway of a mausoleum, cowering, hands over his face. He moaned, the reedy sound blending in with his normal tones.

"I can hear them." Sam spoke, his voice pained, stressed almost to its breaking point.

"What? What can ya hear Sammy?"

"Wailing. Rising and falling, fading. Drifting on the air. Into the dark." Sam's voice took on a monotone rhythm, a deadpan sound barely above a whisper. Dean closed in on Sam, intent on pulling him up and finding a way to help his brother. Sam's hands dropped from his face and he looked up, the whites of his eyes red around the irises, like a spreading disease. The teal was nearly gone, shot through by black.

Sam roared, lunging at Dean and taking him to the ground, a small tombstone digging harshly into Dean's spine. Sam's face was directly over Dean's, twisted with malice, the black streaks in his eyes more prominent. Dean's own eyes widened as he watched the black move, darken and encroach more on the teal, seeming to devour the green that made Sam _Sammy_. Sam pinned Dean by straddling his chest, his knees digging into Dean's forearms and pinning him effectively to the brown grass. Dean's fingers began to tingle as Sam reared back and punched him in the jaw, snapping his head to the left and leaving him seeing stars. Dean's world grayed out around the edges, his ears ringing before sound cut back in and he heard Sam's voice. Or what he thought was Sam's voice until he could focus. The voice had a reedy, serpentine sound.

"I'm going to take over." the voice taunted, the words reaching Dean's ears a beat slower than Sam's mouth was moving. "You would be such an easy take. The hell in your soul would make me fat." Sam's face twisted, actually appearing to change. "He's given over to the darkness inside him once. I've enjoyed feeding from that, twisting it and making it grow. His guilty conscience makes him try to hide from me. His feeble struggle against me has been fun."

"What the hell are you?" Dean ground out, feeling Sam's large hands close over his throat.

"I'm what's going to kill the mindless soldier and relish the freedom of another darkened soul." The hands began to squeeze and Dean felt his air cut off, his lungs beginning to burn and vision beginning to blur. He saw Sam's eyes clearly as his face once again loomed directly over Dean's own. The black swirled and moved closer to obliterating the shining blue green.

"Dean!" another voice cried out, spearing straight though to Dean's fading awareness and bringing him back. Bright, firelight flooded the area from behind Sam. The big hands loosened from around his throat as Sam's voice blended with the serpentine one in a scream of pain, the pinning weight lifting quickly and staggering away. The light left Dean and pinned down the retreating figure hunched in the corner of the doorway as Lili stepped up, a hastily fashioned torch shining on the creature that was taking Sam over, pining him down with heat and firelight. The black streaks shone almost crimson in the bright light as Dean rolled over and focused clearing eyes on his brother. Sam screamed again as the streaks moved, retreating, before stabbing through beneath his skin, looking like tentacles burrowing their way through his veins to his brain.

Sam looked up, his eyes darkening even though the light contracted his pupils to pinpricks. "Gypsy bitch!" the serpentine voice growled, Sam's voice a deeper undertone to the reedy sound. Lili stepped forward, pinning Sam down with the fire as he fell to his knees, the darkness beneath his skin retreating slightly. Dean pushed himself up on his elbows, breathing heavily through parted lips. Lili pulled back the sawed off in her other hand and forced it downward, the butt slamming into the side of Sam's head and dropping him.

"Lili, what the hell?" Dean shouted, his voice still rough as he shoved to his feet and made his way to his brother's side. "You just pistol whipped my brother with a sawed off shotgun!" Bobby crouched beside Sam.

"This is bad." Bobby said, stepping forward, gently moving Sam's head to look at the small abrasion inflicted by the gun. Sam's blood leaked in a small stream from the head wound. The crimson fluid was shot through with parasitic looking black strings. The others ignored him, Lili stepping closer to Dean as her temper flared, making her stance rigid.

"It was the only way to get Sam out of the Darkness' hold and give him a chance. It can't reach him if he's unconscious. All it can do is spread."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Lili rounded on Dean, her diminutive form seeming imposing as her violet eyes glinted. "You know what I am. You were out in those woods and you were attacked. Sam took that hit, got touched. For you. If he hadn't, the Darkness would have taken you over in seconds!"

"Guys…"

"What. Are. You. Talking. About?" Dean snarled grabbing her shoulders and shaking her once, fed up with the Gypsy's riddles.

"Your time in hell blackened part of your soul Dean." Dean stared at the girl, dumbfounded. "It would have been a perfect incubator for the Darkness! That part of you buried deep inside would have came out in a swath of destruction that would have left nothing familiar, nothing good, behind!"

"HEY!" Bobby bellowed, making Dean and Lili jump. They faced him as he spoke again. "We just gonna let him lay here while you two Idjits exchange sweet nothings with each other?"

Dean nodded and looked at Lili, lowering his voice. "How?"

"I can see the difference in you." Lili turned as Sam stirred on the ground. "Him, we'll have time to help. You just have to believe me and we have to work together if you want your family back."

"So what's with the fire? How does that help us fight what's got Sammy?"

"_O ushalin zhala sar o kam mangela. _The shadow moves as the sun commands." Lili looked down at Sam and then back at Dean. "We leave no room for the darkness to get a foothold and we stand a chance at saving him."

"So just how are we gonna pull that off?"

"Keep him from dying until sunrise. Is there a church near this graveyard o' yours, Bobby?"

"Big ol' place, smack in the middle. Got a lot 'a windows." Bobby said, a light in his eyes that showed he was beginning to catch on. "It's just down over the hill."

Lili led the way, scanning the cemetery for hazards as the sky darkened, moon swallowed by a bank of clouds. Bobby steadied Sam with a shift to the grip he had on his young friend's legs while Dean wrapped his arms securely around Sam's chest. The older Winchester was quiet, lost in thought. _I've fought to keep that kid safe all his life. Not gonna lose him again._

_ Dec 11, 1983_

"_Time for bed, Dean." John said, dark circles under his own eyes making him look older than his years. He held out an arm for a hug from his child. The four year old looked up at his father for a split second, face unmoving, mouth tightly sealed before he stood from his crouch on the floor in front of a broken down couch. He turned and went into the room he shared with baby Sammy, little more than a closet with a rickety crib John had found at a flea market and a musty smelling toddler bed that had been left along the curb in town for garbage pickup. John followed his son to the door, watching the boy lean over his brother's crib, brush a kiss on the tiny forehead, and move to his own bed. Dean laid down on the unstable bed, pulling a threadbare quilt tightly around his shoulders. He faced the wall away from John._

_John sighed, working a hand through his stubble as he turned away, wondering when he had lost his wife, his son's love, everything. He lumbered back through the narrow hall, grabbing a bottle from the table in the kitchen, and lowered himself to the couch, the springs poking him in the back. He squirmed until the springs shifted and he found a tolerable position, his head resting on the arm of the furniture. He lifted the bottle to his lips and cherished the burn as it coursed down his throat. Soon enough the bottle slipped from limp fingers, amber liquid sloshing onto the carpet in a small puddle before laying still below the neck._

_The moonlight highlighted the tense lines between the Winchester patriarch's eyes. "Mary!" John gasped, sitting up on the rough material of the couch. His breath came in heaves, half sobs, as he tried to fill his lungs. He still smelled the smoke, although the fire was more than a month past. He still felt the heat, felt the fire coming after him, trying to take him like it took Mary. He ran a hand down over his face, calloused fingers rasping over his week old growth of beard. He stood, wavering slightly as the alcohol settled into his brain._

"_My boys. Need my boys." John muttered, walking down the hall, shoulder bumping the faded wallpaper. He turned the corner into the room his boys shared and stopped, watching quietly. Dean was curled around Sam, who was gurgling quietly, happily, fingers tangled in Dean's hair. Dean rubbed his cheek gently over the crown of Sam's head, small hand resting tenderly on little Sammy's chest. John had to strain to make out the soft whispers from his eldest's lips to his baby's ears._

"_As long as we're together, we'll be alright. Promise." Dean closed his eyes and tucked Sam's head under his chin protectively. "I know you miss Mommy, Sammy. I do too. I miss her, bad." John looked in the corner of the room when a lump on the floor caught his eye. It was a dead rat._

_Dean's promise to Sammy hit John hard and he turned silently away from the boys' room, tears coursing down his cheeks to meander through his stubble. He picked up the bottle, drained the liquid fire in one tip to his lips, not even breathing between gulps, and hurled it, smashing the glass off the window frame across the room. He flipped over the wobbly coffee table, stood and stalked across to the small kitchen, tipping the scarred table that was in the small house when they'd rented it, along with the two vinyl chairs with rusty metal legs, not caring that the continued noise would wake, and scare, his sons._

_He heard a high pitched cry, like a squawk, which was quickly hushed. The fight left John and he stumbled into his bedroom, collapsing on the bare mattress. A minute later a loud snore quickly filled the room as John lay across the bed, boots still on and hanging off the side._

"What do I need to do?"

"Get him into the church and tie him up for starters. Rope soaked in Holy Water will work since I don't have enough ash."

"Ash?"

"From a fire that consumed the body of a murderer. Evil purified by flame. It's the only effective entrapment." Sam stirred again, enough that Lili turned the torch on him again. The creature gave a reedy moan, sounding like winter wind through barren trees, and the Darkness receded again, leaving Sam still. "We have to hurry."

Dean moved closer to Sam, Lili automatically compensating by lifting the flame and keeping Dean's shadow from covering the dark streaks in Sam's skin. Dean hefted his brother, Bobby gripping and lifting the young hunter's legs, and carried him to the church, stretching him out on top of the altar. He brushed Sam's hair back from his eyes, stopping briefly as Sam leaned into his touch and his eyes opened, pleading. "Help me." Sam mouthed, his eyes closing once more. Dean turned to Lili.

"I've gotta get the rope outta the car." Lili nodded, her black hair over her eyes as she took off her shoulder bag and set it on the table. Dean left the room, leaving the door ajar. Lili heard the squeak of the trunk hinges and the slam of the lid. Dean's footsteps closed in on the door and he came back in, a large coil of rope over his shoulder and a gallon water jug in his other hand. He poured the water into a marble basin. She watched him lay the coil of rope in the water. A minute later, rope dripping Holy Water onto the floor, Dean held the coil in his hands and gently began to position Sam so that he could be effectively tied down . Lili went to the altar and moved Sam's arms so that his wrists dangled off the edge. The rope was securely tied to Sam's limbs.

Lili began chanting as Dean wrapped the rope down under the altar and tied off Sam's other wrist, cutting the rope and moving to his ankles, leaving Sam spread eagle on the altar. Lili stepped forward and unbuttoned Sam's shirt, Dean watching closely. She pulled a small Jade handled knife from her boot and sliced through Sam's tee, baring his chest. She reached for a small clay bowl and pinched some of the contents between her fingers, sprinkling a fine gray dust on Sam's chest in a line down his breastbone. Sam's head tossed on the altar, mouth a tight line of pain, as his nostrils flared with each quick breath.

"What's happenin' to him?"

"The Darkness is starting to fight for control. Sam is probably regaining consciousness."

"Can't we sedate him or something? Make it so it doesn't hurt him." Dean asked, carding his fingers back through Sam's hair, offering comfort.

"It'll hurt him no matter what. I'm sorry Dean. It'll be hard on him, but the Darkness has to be stopped."

"So how do we stop it?"

"The same way my ancestors did. Burn it away."

"Burn it? What the hell are you talking about? Lili, you got this annoying habit of pissin' me off!"

"It's three parts. The banishing of the Darkness. First we summon it, then we trap it, then we use the fire to drive it out."

"Do you know this is gonna work?"

"Honestly? I don't know." Lili stared at Dean for a second before shifting her eyes to Sam, tied to the altar. "I pray to the spirits that it does." She said softly.

"Then let's do it."

Lili grabbed her bag and upended it on the smaller offering table, small bags of herbs falling out into a heap as a warm, spicy, slightly acidic smell flooded the room. Along with the herbs laid a dark gray clay mortar and pestle, and small ornate dagger, the handle made of bone and the blade chiseled purple Amethyst. Dean saw the blade shining brightly in the room lighting, the translucent stone looking like purple glass and grabbed for it, whirling on Lili, the tiny three inch knife dwarfed in his palm and his eyes glinting.

"Just what the hell do you plan to do with this?"

"Feel the edge, Dean. It is so sharp that it won't scar badly. The dagger was placed in my hands by my ancestors as part of the knowledge of the ritual."

"You ain't cutting Sam!"

"Hopefully the Darkness doesn't have a hold on him to that point." Lili said, reaching for a bag of herbs and the mortar. She opened the bag, the smell of Lavender reaching Dean's nose. Lili pinched some of the small dried flowers and placed them in the bowl, quickly grinding them to dust. She added gray powder from another bag, along with what looked like rosemary and some kind of oil which formed a paste as she worked the stone pestle along the inside of the bowl.

Thunder rolled across the sky outside, rattling the glass in the sconces that were attached to the walls of the room. Lili scowled, her face darkening as Sam's harsh breathing filled the room in the sudden silence.

"We need to fortify this place. I think the Darkness is close. He senses it."

"So tell us what t'do." Bobby replied.

"Salt the windows and doors." She pulled a bundle of herbs from the pile on the offering table and handed them to the older hunter. "Mugwort. Grind it and mix it with the salt. It calls on guardian spirits to surround the place within the lines. Each time you lay a line say _'Davopre'_. Means 'I give upwards.'"

"What about Sam?" Dean asked when Bobby handed him half the bundle.

Lili dipped a finger in the paste she'd formed and drew a circle around the gray dust on Sam's chest. He bucked, moaning, then fell still. "He'll stay unconscious."

Bobby nodded and herded Dean towards the door, with Dean glancing over his shoulder at Sam's unmoving form one last time. Lili turned back towards the herbs and her clay bowl, mixing more paste, soft voice blessing the concoction. Lightening flashed and she glanced at the stone window frames and their brightly colored glass. The windows had a single block layer of clear glass, framed by lead soldier between the stone and the outer ring of the stained glass pattern. A shadow moved outside the window and caught Lili's eye, seconds before the chapel door burst in in a shower of wood and stained glass.

**A/N: Oops, sorry about the cliffie but I just had to do it. I missed that most about writing. I'm not off work again until mid week next week, but I have a couple early shifts so I might see about posting if enough of you are still interested in reading.** **Leave a review! **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks so much to Ginnylove9990 for reading all my OLD fics. Hope you enjoy this one as much when you catch up! Here's another chapter. I'm grateful for the supporters I still have who are reading this. One more chapter to go, but since I'm working Christmas Eve, and Day and trying to find time for a party between shifts, then pulling a double shift the day after that, I have no idea when it will go up. Then I think I'm back to an occasional one shot. Call me a glory hound, a bitch, or whatever you like, but this hasn't gotten enough response to warrant the hard work that goes into writing a sequel or even another long story. I don't get why people can't take the time to leave a review for hard work but one shots and drabbles go through the roof.**

**Rant over. If you got past that and you wanna keep reading then enjoy. If not, there's a little button that says CLOSE in one form or another. click away.  
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**CHAPTER 4**

_ August 4, 1997_

_A rumble sounded out in the distance as the fluttering tendrils of the Weeping Willow caught Lili's attention outside the small kitchen window. She put down the tome she was studying and stood from the worn rocker, her foot tingling from where she'd had it tucked beneath her. She went to the window and looked out, seeing the darkening sky. A chill crawled its way up the back of her neck and she tucked her hand beneath her long dark hair, rubbing away the prickling feeling of distress. She stretched up on her toes to look out the dirt trail that led to the secluded cabin she and her father had called home since he adopted her. It was still hard to believe her mother had been gone now for just over seven years. She heard another rumble of thunder and watched as the wind blew through the lacy fronds of the gnarled tree. She went to the fireplace, stirring the glowing embers with the wrought iron poker that her father had forged. She saw the flames begin to blossom, the heat seeping into the metal and making the engravings in the metal glow. Thunder cracked and startled her from her musings. Quickly hanging the still glowing poker on it's stand and safely off the wood floor, she stood._

_The sound died down and she heard another rumble take it's place, the sound of her father's twenty odd year old truck. She smiled, finally seeing the black and gray vehicle round the bend in the trail and approach the house, pulling close to the front door. Lili went to the door and opened it, smiling at her adoptive father as he stepped from the truck, waving a work worn hand at her. He reached into the back of his truck and pulled out several bags of supplies, walking towards the house. She held the door wide open and watched her father put them down on the threshold. Sliding them inside the door for her, he turned. "Got some more to grab, baby girl. Can ya put them away?"_

"_Of course." The teenager said, picking up the bag nearest her feet. She sat it on the counter and turned for the other one to see Nolan step inside, shoving the remaining bag out of his way with the toe of his boot. He glared at her and kicked again, scattering the already broken line of salt further across the room. His eyes bled black and he smirked._

"_Been lookin' for you for a long time…" The demon drawled in her father's voice._

"_NO!" Lili cried, backing away until the small of her back smacked up against the butcher block counter top. She reached behind her blindly, taking hold of the canister of salt. She cast it at her father, distracting him long enough to go to the corner cabinet where the holy water was kept. She grabbed the gallon jug and twisted the cap off, flinging the contents of the canister. Her father shrieked and staggered under the onslaught of holy water, his flesh steaming. Lili shot past him, headed for the living room, where she could better fight the demon inside her father. He snarled and grabbed her arm, spinning her back towards him to catch her roughly by her arms, shaking her._

"_No, ya don't. You're mine now."_

"_Fight it Father! PLEASE!" Lili screamed, crying out as the demon painfully wrenched her shoulder. She forced herself to breathe, calming down enough to begin uttering the first words of an exorcism. The demon in her father hissed, giving up too quickly as the blend of ancient Latin and powerful Romani chant worked to free her father of the demon's grasp. It weakened the demon enough that his grip faltered, and Lili pulled free, grabbing the poker from the fireplace rack. The warm metal made contact with Nolan's arm as he grabbed for her again, searing the symbol into his flesh. His head tipped back and black smoke poured out of his mouth. He released her arm and fell to his knees, gasping for breath as the smoke tapered off, streaming into the fireplace and up the flue. Nolan fell forward, weakly coughing as he caught himself on his hands. Lightening wildly flashed across the sky and she flinched at the crack of thunder. He finally looked at her, remorse shining in his eyes._

"Bobby!" Dean cried, hearing a loud crash from inside the church. The older hunter turned the corner quickly and they rushed inside, finding ropes dangling, Sam gone and Lili, unconscious, crumpled against the base of the wall opposite the altar. Dean went to Lili while Bobby lifted his gun and scanned the church and the anterooms, finding no sign of Sam. Dean glanced his way and Bobby shook his head, telling Dean that Sam was gone.

Dean crouched in front of Lili, lifting her lolling head. He tucked his fingers under the angle of her jaw, her earring cool against his palm. "Lili, hey. Come on girl, wake up." He tapped her cheek with a finger. "Lil."

"Mnnh…" Her brow wrinkled and eyelashes fluttered. Dean tipped her head back, tucking his other hand behind the crown of wayward dark waves. He straightened out her long neck, relieving the awkward position.

"C'mon, Lil."

Her eyes opened wide and she jumped, snapping as she fought the memories of both long ago and of Sam's attack. She felt Dean's hands on her and reacted, lashing out as a cry was wrenched from her. Dean caught a small fist to the temple, stunning him momentarily, until his vision cleared and he clamped down on her arms, trapping them between her body and his own as he hauled her close. "Hey, hey, hey! Stop, Lili. Stop it!" he called out, breaking through her wild eyed terror. When the fight left her, he held her at arms length,

"Hey, where's Sam?"

"Dean…Unh…he flaked on me." Lili's head rolled against Dean's hand and she moaned again, nose wrinkling as her eyes scrunched against the pain in her head. She lifted a hand to the knot on the back of her head and Dean dropped his to rest on her knee. "The wraith broke in. Smashed m'head into the wall." Her lips pursed, until she sighed and her boots slid across the smooth floor with a squeak, legs falling askew beside Dean.

"Bobby, stay here. Keep an eye on her. I'm goin' after Sammy." Dean stood, after squeezing Lili's knee and turned, heading for the door.

"Dean." Lili said, lifting her head as her hand dropped to toy with her bracelet. The silver discs jangled in the sudden heavy silence. "Be careful. It's got him. He's turned." Dean nodded and left.

Bobby helped Lili to her feet, steadying her until she moved away. "We need to help Dean. If the wraith gets a hold of Sam, we'll lose them both."

"Can we save Sam?"

"It's not too late. We have to get them away from the wraith and back here. The banishing must be done here, it's the only place we can be sure we can defend."

"Alright. Followin' your lead here, Lili."

Lili grabbed the spotlight, while Bobby picked up the shotgun and readied his own light. Together they left the church and headed out into the graveyard, searching for signs of the wraith, of Dean and Sam. All was silent except for their footfalls and their breathing, fog thickening around their ankles seemingly trying to trip them up and slow their progress through the old cemetery.

Dean heard a snakelike hiss permeating the fog ahead of him and stopped, going completely silent and not even daring to breathe. His heart skipped a beat when he heard a pained whimper that was purely Sam. His hand slipped beneath his jacket and gripped the handle of the colt, fingertips only inches from the demon killing blade. A half dozen scenarios played through his mind as he wondered which weapon would allow him to save his brother, if he could get close enough to get to Sam and not risk himself as Lili feared, and what the _hell_ the thing was doing to his baby brother.

Dean eased his head around the corner, just seeing Sam and the wraith out of one eye, careful not to draw the thing's attention. It loomed over Sam, who was laying on the brown grass, curled nearly in a fetal position. The fog snaked around him, twisting its way over his arms and legs as if it were tying him to the ground. He writhed as the black figure held out a translucent, bony hand, long blackened fingernails looking like claws. The tendrils of fog tightened over Sam, flipping him forcefully onto his back. The mist coiled over his chest and up his shoulders to his neck. It twisted around his throat, squeezing until Sam gasped for air before it plunged into his mouth and down his throat. The black masses beneath his skin surged toward the bands of vapor coalescing beneath them. Sam's cry cut the night as the darkness beneath his skin seemed to swell and spill into the surrounding tissues, taking over healthy tan and twisting it.

"SAM!" Dean cried, rushing from his hiding place in the shadows. He fired the Colt, watching as the wraith seemed to scream, a silent cry of rage and pain. Sam's cry gave voice to the wraith. Blood welled from his lips, and trickled from his nose, laced with black parasitic strings as he fell to his knees and slumped back. Dean trained the gun on the vicinity of the wraith's eyes and his finger tightened on the trigger.

"Dean!" Lili called. " Don't shoot it again! You'll kill your brother!"

Startled by her revelation, Dean nearly dropped the gun. The wraith took off, quickly disappearing into the night. Sam lay still on the brown grass, his shoulder laying against a low headstone, a smear of blood decorating the pale gray concrete slab. His chest heaved, harsh breathing the only sound in the sudden silence of the graveyard. Lili and Bobby stumbled to a stop next to Dean. The gypsy crouched next to Sam, touching his arm, which was swathed in the dark shadow steadily devouring his tan skin. It seemed to shy away from her touch, the flesh beneath her fingers fading from onyx to gray.

"He's weak. The wraith nearly claimed him for itself. We still have time, but we have to work fast."

"Is he gonna survive this?"

Lili looked up at Bobby, easily reading the fear for the boy he loved like a son painted across his face like graffiti. "Honestly?" Her accent came through clearly, suddenly making her sound tired.

"Hell yes." Dean said.

"If we can keep him breathing until sunrise, he might stand a chance."

"So what the hell we waitin' for? Let's get 'im back to the church." Bobby said, adjusting his trucker's cap to sit more firmly on his head.

Dean moved to stand over Lili as she looked up at him, worry marring her olive features. He looked at Sam's pale face, determined to do anything necessary to save his little brother. He stepped around Lili to Move to Sam's head, easing his head and shoulders away from the tombstone and into his own arms. Bobby quickly moved to Sam's legs and gripped the young hunter behind his knees, lifting as Dean did. Dean stood, bowed slightly under his little brother's weight. Lili gathered the weapons and everything else and covered the men as they made their way back to the church.

Inside the door Lili quickly laid lines of mugwort and salt, chanting in a low voice, her violet eyes catching the glint of moonlight through the open door. The air became heavy with an electric charge and seemed to pulse, creating an area inside the door resembling a force field. The tombstones in the distance appeared to undulate as if looked at through waves of heat.

Dean and Bobby laid Sam down on the altar, arranging him so he could be tied down once again. They made short work of tying him up again.

"If we gotta torture the boy then let's get it the hell over with." Bobby growled, his hand comforting on Sam's too still shoulder.

Lili went back to work with the herbs and ash, finishing off the contents of the bowl and moving to stand over Sam. Lili parted Sam's ruined shirt again and touched up the sigils on his chest, making sure none of the lines were broken. She placed the bowl on the center of Sam's chest and moved her hand over it, beginning to chant in a low, musical voice. A breeze blew through the church, blowing a lock of hair across Lili's mouth, trying to disrupt her. She never faltered as she pushed the hair away. Dean braced himself, shielding Sam and lifting the shotgun. He covered the doors and windows. Bobby moved closer to Lili to offer some protection.

A reedy hiss echoed through the room as the wind surged, making Dean's eyes water. He ducked his head, safeguarding his eyes and his aim.

"The wraith is here!" Lili cried, voice nearly drowned out by the wind. Dean braced himself for war.

Lili pulled the amethyst knife up and continued to chant. Dean watched as black shadows swarmed the door, making the "force field" flex and bow. Lili finished the chant and brought the amethyst blade down hard, slamming it one handed down into the center of the bottom of the bowl. At the same time the bowl shattered, blood welled, and the gray ooze leaked over Sam's chest she threw her jade knife at the doors of the church. The air inside the doorway shimmered and popped like stretched saran wrap. Black shadows poured into the room. "NOW!" Lili cried above the noise of rushing wind and serpentine screech. Bobby stepped forward and flicked a brass Zippo lighter to life, touching the flickering flame to the paste. It caught, fire spreading over Sam's bare chest and surrounding the knife. Sam's eyes flew open and his back arched, a cry choked off in his throat. The shadows swirled and the room filled with a scream, a banshee like wail, echoed by Sam's anguished cry.

**Thanks for reading if you did. Last chapter when I can. Do I have to beg for a review?**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry for the long delay. Between the doubles at work and the holidays, then life in general well...**

**Anyway, I do hope you enjoy this last chapter. I might make up my mind to let you all in on what happens at the end if things cooperate with me. Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to review. Especially you, Sculls! That made my day. Anyway, enjoy!  
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**CHAPTER 5**

The shadows swirled like a tornado, whirling around the hunters, whipping hair and clothes. Sam's scream choked off as the darkness swarmed him, being pulled into the flames. Lili spoke, her voice going unheard by the hunters over the din. The flames flared and turned purple to match the blade, buried in ooze and blood, protruding from Sam's chest. Tendrils of smoke seemed to reach up and catch the shadows, pulling the screaming wraiths into the flame. The flame went out as if doused, Sam going limp. The ooze had dried, turned white and began to flake off with Sam's ragged breathing. Lili pushed her hair back from her face and gingerly pulled the dagger from Sam's body. Blood welled, Dean quickly stepping up to stem the flow with his handkerchief. Sam groaned, sweat beading on his brow and trickling down beside his closed eyes to disappear into his hair.

"So that's it?" Dean asked, worried green eyes glancing from Sam to Lili and back again.

"I don't know." She replied. "It seemed a little easy."

Sam's back arched and he cried out, muscles cording in his neck as he fought to breathe.

"Sammy!" Dean cried, holding his brother's thrashing body down. Sam's muscles seemed to seize up, hands fisting, muscles in his arms turning to concrete. Dean watched in horror as the gray shadows beneath Sam's skin on his chest moved, following his veins up his neck like worms. Sam's mouth opened and a gag shook him. The black veins marched up his neck, into his cheeks. Sam heaved and a shadow spewed from his mouth, slithering out the broken doors. Sam went limp, sweat beading on his face and chest, turning the white dust into a runny smear.

"Stay with him!" Dean cried, snatching up the shotgun and racing through the door. Bobby followed quickly. Lili cut the ropes on Sam's ankles and sat down on the edge of the altar, untying Sam's arms. She arranged him as comfortably as she could, placing her empty duffle bag beneath his head. She picked up an old offering plate and brushed the dust from it. She dumped half a bottle of water from Bobby's satchel into the bowl and ripped a piece off Sam's ruined tee. Dipping the cloth in the water she rinsed the sweat from his brow. Satisfied when he appeared to relax she cleaned the dust and sweat from his chest and stitched the small wound the dagger left. When she was finished she cleaned her hands with an alcohol wipe, poured more water into the plate and continued to offer comfort to the youngest among them.

The moon was beginning to lower in the sky when Sam's brow furrowed and his eyes slid open, rolling lazily in their sockets before finally focusing.

"Lili?" He ground out, voice hoarse from disuse. He tried to push up on his elbows, she pushed him back when his face paled.

"Easy Sam." She said, her soft accent prominent in her tiredness, her "a" sounding more like "ah".

"Where's D'n?" Sam slurred, leaning into her touch as she brushed the cool, damp washcloth over his sweat streaked face once again.

"He went after the wraith." She said, matter of fact. Sam's eyes popped open.

"What?" He cried, shoving upright. He gasped in pain quickly wrapping an arm around his middle.

"Y'done?" Lili asked, planting a small hand on her slender hip as her violet eyes regarded Sam. He looked up at her, his breathing shuttered against pain, pleading. She softened and helped him to lie back on the altar.

"Y'burst your stitches and Dean'll have your ass y'know."

"Tell me…he didn't go after it alone." Sam asked.

"He didn't. Bobby tagged along." Sam eased up this time, grimacing, shoving the blankets down his legs.

"He might as well have gone alone." Sam groaned, standing from the altar and waiting until the room stopped spinning. His arm throbbed and he looked down, the black area that used to resemble a bruised hand print now looked more like a shapeless mass, about doubled in size from the original bruise but beginning to fade at the edges.

"What d'ya mean by that?"

"That thing wants Dean. It'll just kill Bobby if he gets in the way. I gotta go after them."

"And Dean said I was t' keep ya here. You're too weak to be takin' on the wraith. It still has a hold on you! The closer y'get to it, the easier it can weaken you…kill you."

"I can't take the chance that Dean gets hurt. If that thing touches him…I dunno… It's like I can feel it practically salivating over him."

"Sam, you're not up to it." Lili said, stepping forward and putting a hand on his arm. She felt the chill to his skin, even though it was obvious from his flushed face that he was burning up.

Sam shook his head, fighting to keep from swaying where he stood. "Doesn't matter."

"It will to Dean." Lili said, turning to Sam's back as he made his way to where his flannel shirt rested over the back of a chair at the table. He pulled the material over his back and slid into the sleeves, buttoning it with shaking hands.

"Let it. I can't let that thing get him."

"Then I'm drivin' and you're goin' t' rest until we get there."

"Fine." Sam said, reaching for his boots, his hand white knuckled on the chair back to keep from face planting. He sat in the chair, his hands shaking.

"Dean is going to kill me." Lili muttered, reaching for the scattered weapons and the keys to her truck. Sam put on his boots and leaned forward, putting his face in his hand and pinching the bridge of his nose. Lili shouldered her bag containing a couple guns and her herbs and leaned over Sam, putting a tiny hand on his shoulder.

"Dean will be okay if you…"

"No. I have to keep that thing away from him. No matter what, I can't let that thing get it's claws into him."

"Alright then, we have to go."

She helped Sam stand until he was steadier on his feet and then they walked to her truck, Sam sliding in the passenger side and almost immediately slumping in the seat. Lili glanced worriedly at him but he straightened and shot her a tired, and slightly grim, but determined smile. "'M alright." Lili fired the V8 and pulled out of the scrap yard. Turning to look out the window he slumped again.

_** May 2, 1996**_

"_C'mon Sammy! Get ya ass in gear or you're walkin!"_

_Sam trudged out of the bedroom, back pack dragging the floor as he held it by the top loop that was sewn on between the shoulder straps. "What are you so happy about?" He grumbled, scowling at Dean.  
><em>

"_Last day of school, and we get to hunt with Dad all summer."_

"_Oh yeah, dream come true, Dean." Sam threw his backpack down on the cracked kitchen linoleum. "We're gonna hunt all summer and when the fall rolls around I'll be in some other school and the ninth grade! I'm fifteen and I'll be in classes with fourteen year olds! So yeah, I'm really looking forward to summer!"_

_John, having walked back in the front door to hear Sam's raised voice, made his way into the kitchen. "Sam!" He barked. "What's your problem?"_

"_My problem is that we can never stay anywhere, Dad!" Sam glared at his father. "Always moving around. New York one month, California the next! I'm a grade behind because of you!"_

"_Sam!" Dean started._

"_No, Dean." John said, putting a hand on his eldest's chest, and whirling to return his youngest child's venomous look. "You know what, Sam? You are a grade behind. And it's because of our fight to find what killed your mother. That's what's important, and I expect you to remember that!"_

"_Finding what killed mom is important? I don't even REMEMBER MOM! You won't tell me about her, Dean won't tell me about her, and you expect me to feel the same way about finding her killer?"_

"_ENOUGH!" John barked, glowering down at his son. "Dean, pack your stuff, and your brother's. I'm gonna pull you both from school. We leave in two hours. If it's not necessity, get rid of it." John picked up Sam's dog eared copy of _Where the Red Fern Grows_ and tore it in half, throwing it back onto the table. "Take all the junk out back and burn it."_

_Sam's eyes welled with angry tears and his fists tightened at his sides before he turned and stalked from the kitchen. Dean followed Sam out of the room, grabbing him by the arm in the hallway._

"_What's your problem, Sam?"_

"_One of these days, I'm so outta here, Dean."_

_Dean snorted. "Yeah right." _

"_Oh, I promise you, Dean, it'll happen. I'll make it happen." Sam said, eyes narrowing. _

"_Go pack what you want, but make sure you hide it good. I won't tell dad if you wanna take that big ol' book you always got your nose buried in. But if he finds it, you're on your own."_

_Sam shrugged free and walked into their small shared bedroom. He threw his meager belongings, four pairs of jeans, a pair of sturdy, expensive boots, and cheap, worn sneakers, six tee shirts and three hoodies, on his bed. He tucked the big book of folk tales reverently into the bottom of his bag and wadded the clothing on top of it and around it, disguising it's sharp edges. He held up the duffle for Dean's examination, smiling at his brother, then plopped the heavy bag back on his bed._

_Dean reached out and ruffled his long hair. Sam shoved him playfully. "Jerk."_

"_Bitch." Dean said._

"What're you thinking'?"

"Huh?"

"Somethin's on your mind, Sam." Lili responded, glancing away from the road for a second.

"Oh. Nothin."

"Uh huh. You're worried about Dean." She made it a statement, but he answered anyway.

"Seriously worried." Sam took a breath and released a tired sigh. "That thing is the…darkest…."

"It twisted me into something…scary, and every time I thought of Dean, his time in hell and what he told me he did, its like I felt this surge of adrenaline. And it got a stronger hold on me. But I know it would have dropped me like a hot rock if it had the chance to touch Dean. It wants him. Bad."

"That thing will be unstoppable if it gets him." Sam said, as much to himself as to her.

"I know." Lili said. "We can't let it get to that."

Sam sat up in the seat when the headlights illuminated the Impala, parked haphazardly on the shoulder of the road. "Dean's car."

Lili pulled the truck to a stop behind the Impala. Sam grunted in pain when he pushed open the door but he breathed through it and went to the car, looking inside. Lili slid from the driver's seat and looked on. "It's empty. Some of the guns are gone too."

"We…" Lili broke off when gunshots echoed in the distance. Sam stood and turned towards the sound.

"That's Dean's shotgun." Sam took off running towards the sound.

"Sam! Wait!" Lili cried, grabbing her bag and gun. She sprinted after Sam just as he disappeared into the cemetery across the road. Gunshots echoed and a cry rang out.

"NO!" Lili heard as she rounded a monument and saw Dean on the ground beneath the wraith. Bobby was slumped against a tombstone, blood leaking from his nose. The wraith shoved Sam away hard and loomed over an unconscious Dean.

_** January 17, 2002**_

"_LILI! On your six!" Nolan screamed at the twenty one year old as the big black dog closed in on her. Lili darted between two closely growing trees, the fabric of her flannel shirt giving way as it rubbed the rough bark, raking her skin and making it burn. She heard the dog's heavily muscled body smack into the trees. They groaned as the dog, wedged between them at the shoulder, fought to free itself and sink it's teeth into Lili. Lili turned several yards in front of the dog and fired her rifle, blowing her bangs from her face with a heavy breath. The dog howled as the bullet penetrated the flesh between it's shoulders, slamming into it's sternum. Lili fired three shots from the rifle. Instead of dying, the dog growled and lunged against it's prison again and again, finally freeing itself as the rough bark of the trees ripped mangy fur from it's skin. It tackled Lili, blood dripping onto her chest. Fetid breath burned her cheek as the rifle went off. Blood splattered her face and the leaf litter as the bullet burned a hole through the soft underside of the beast's jaw and burst out of the top of it's head. It fell forward, front paw raking her side just above her belt. Blood welled, coating the black dog's motionless paws and dripped down her sides to mingle with the black dog blood on the leaf strewn floor. _

_She moaned in pain, the weight of the heavy dog pressing her into the leaf strewn forest floor. Feeling the welling blood oozing in warm rivulets down her side. Her lungs contracted and refused to expand again as the weight of the dog pressed harder. Blackness began to swirl around the edges of her vision, closing in on her. "Lili! Baby girl!" Lili's eyes focused blearily on her father and her mouth worked silently as she tried and failed to draw a breath. Nolan grabbed the dog around the neck in a headlock and lifted it's heavy body with a groan, letting Lili lever herself from beneath the mangy body. She worked her way free and collapsed, breathing heavily now that she could. Her father crouched at her side, pressing a torn piece of material to the wound. Lili grimaced and moaned, trying to stifle a cry. Nolan helped her sit against the base of a tree and knelt beside her, only releasing his hold on the cloth when she took over the pressure. _

"_I'm alright, Father. Take care of that thing." Lili said, her nose crinkling as she made a face to hide her discomfort. Nolan lowered his duffle bag to the leafy forest floor and reached inside for his camp shovel, salt and lighter fluid. He used the shovel to clear the dry leaves from a circle around the animal where he scuffed the dirt beneath to reveal moist, loamy soil that wouldn't burn. Nolan doused the beast in lighter fluid and shook salt out of the canister, coating the mangy fur. Nolan pulled matches from his jacket pocket and lit three of the red tips, tossing them onto the soaked fur. It lit instantly and Nolan grimaced, covering his nose and mouth against the odor of burning hair and rancid flesh. The dog burned fast and in a few minutes it was an unrecognizable lump of charcoal. Nolan used the shovel to break up the bigger lumps and put out the remains of the fire before scuffing dirt over the remains. When it cooled, he scattered leaves and debris, making the site look undisturbed._

_He turned to Lili, seeing her pale face lift to meet his blue eyes. "C'mon, baby girl. Let's get you home and patched up." Nolan lifted Lili to her feet and she sagged against him before regaining her footing._

I gotta get her outta here. Too close to losin' her._ Nolan thought as he held his daughter gently, allowing her to guide herself, knowing she would resent being babied. After all, Nolan had raised her himself. _ Girl takes to everything I teach her, whether it's a lesson or not._ Nolan smiled over Lili's head, his fondness for the child he took in evident in his eyes._

Lili shot the wraith just before it reached for Dean, the bullet loaded with herbs and salt elicited an inhuman screech from the wraith. It turned on Sam and held out a spectral hand, shadows dancing around an abyss. Sam choked, hands coming up to his throat as the shadows swarmed him. He gasped for breath, falling to his knees. The wind swirled around him, more shadows creeping from the dark recesses of the graveyard to swamp Sam. He slumped to the ground. Lili fired again, the wraith bucking and screeching as the herb laden buckshot sliced through the shadow. She caught Dean's slow movements out of the corner of her eye and gave a nearly imperceptible nod. Dean's hand flicked out, silver Zippo coming to life at the same time Lili unloaded the last round from her gun, aiming low and striking the wraith inches above where Dean's flame contacted the dancing shadows at the edge of the darkness. The wraith howled as the flames climbed higher, sparks lighting the night.

Dean crab crawled backwards, out from beneath the conflagration, until he saw Sam lying motionless in the brown grass. He quickly wiped blood from beneath his eyebrow where it threatened to blind him. "Sammy!" Dean rolled Sam over in the grass, taking in his pale features and barely rising chest. Dean checked Sam's pulse and found it slow but steady. He lowered his aching head to rest on his brother's chest, the heartbeat he heard a comfort.

"Balls." Bobby muttered in a gruff voice as he came to. He wiped the blood from his upper lip and pushed away from the tombstone. He stood, picking up his hat and slapped it back on his head. "We get it?"

"Yeah, Bobby." Dean breathed. "We got the sonuvabitch."

"He okay?"

"Alive at least." Lili said, glancing at the sky in time to see the brightening ribbons of clouds in the eastern sky.

_** August 31, 2002**_

_Sam came to the kitchen, seeing John and Dean already sitting at the table, researching for another hunt. A day after nearly being dismembered by a Pishacha, John's eye was still swollen, sporting an ugly blue purple ring around it. Deep scratches were dressed with white gauze over his forearm. Sam cleared his throat, standing opposite his father, chin raised just slightly in his usual show of defiance, preparing to go at his father before the man even said a word._

"_What is it Sam?"_

"_I got into college." Sam said, chin tipping up another notch._

"_What?" John said, looking up from his papers._

"_Stanford. In California. I'm going to college." Sam laid the acceptance letter on top of his father's papers._

"_No. You're not." Dean stood from the table, eyes going between his father and brother, fear bleeding through him at the thought of what the next five minutes would bring._

"_I am going to college." Sam said, venom dripping from every word._

"_LIKE HELL!" John barked, standing from the table so fast that the chair tipped backwards, the clatter making Dean jump. He grabbed the letter and crumbled the paper in his fist._

"_I'M NINETEEN AND YOU CAN'T STOP ME!"_

"_IF YOU STEP OUT THAT DOOR, DON'T YOU EVER COME BACK!"_

"_Don't worry, I won't." Sam said softly, tears glistening in icy jade eyes. He blinked them away angrily and opened the hall closet, pulling out his worn canvas duffle bag and an even older backpack. John stared._

"_You planned to do this to us all along?"_

_Sam just looked at his father, face drawn and pale but determined. He adjusted his backpack on his shoulder and turned his back on his old life, shutting the door on his past and opening one to the future. Dean watched his brother leave, barely managing to keep a lid on his mounting sense of loss. Both John and Dean flinched when the door slammed behind their Sammy forever. Dean grabbed his coat, John looking at him with disgust. "Let the little traitor go."_

"'_M goin' out for a drink." Dean left. John returned to his place at the table, gluing his eyes to his research to keep from running after his son. He took a breath, hating that it was shaky and raised his coffee cup to a dry mouth. The smell turned his stomach and seconds later the cup shattered off the doorframe._

_Dean fired the engine of the Impala, sliding behind the wheel, anxious when he didn't see Sam. He turned out onto the road and finally caught a glimpse of his little brother rounding the next curve in the road, walking quickly away from his family. Dean eased the car into place beside his brother and rolled down the window._

_The smell of approaching rain and the darkening sky pushed it's way into the car. _

"_You can't talk me outta this, Dean."_

"_I know. It sucks, but I know."_

"_I'm going to Stanford."_

"_You're gonna get rained on." Sam looked at his brother, wondering what he was talking about when suddenly the sky opened up. Sam jumped when chilly rain began falling in earnest._

"_Get in the car Sam."_

"_No! I'm not going back to be under the drill sergeant's thumb again."_

"_Get in the car, Sam. I'll give you a ride to the bus station." Dean said, sadness in the words._

_Sam stared at his brother for a bit. "Why?" Sam asked, swallowing around a lump in his throat._

"_You'll miss your bus if you have to walk the rest of the way."_

_Sam watched Dean for another minute, until Dean leaned over and opened the passenger door for him. _

"_Get your ass in here." Dean said straightening up on the bench and gripping the wheel. Sam slid into the seat and shut the door, putting his bag between his long legs on the floorboard. He kept his backpack on his lap._

"_Why're you doin' this, Dean?" Sam asked, running his hand over the bench between them for what was probably going to be the last time._

"'_Cos you're still m'brother."_

_Dean eased on the gas pedal and pulled back into the street, following the signs to the bus station even though he knew three shortcuts. Both he and Sam remained silent. _

_Two blocks later, Dean pulled the car to a stop at the bus station, staring at the large blue and white vehicles. The lit signs above the windshield caught his attention and he swallowed down the overwhelming urge to tie Sam up, throw him in the trunk and take him far, far away. Instead, Dean shuffled around in the seat and pulled out his money clip, the initials DW catching the headlights from a bus as it pulled out._

_He emptied it and grabbed Sam's hand, dropping the wad of bills in his palm._

"_Dean, no."_

"_You need something for food out there. Just till ya get on your feet."_

"_No. I can't. You worked all summer at the garage, when we weren't hunting."_

"_You're gonna miss your bus."_

"_Dean…"_

"_GO, Sam! Get the hell outta here!"_

_Sam jumped, hand quickly going to the door handle. He was out of the car and striding towards the bus, leaving Dean in the driver's seat with his heart hammering in time with Sam's steps away from him. Sam turned and looked back at Dean, lips tipping up one second and drooping the next with a sad smile of goodbye. Dean just stared straight ahead, feeling sick._

_Sam walked up the steps, handing his ticket to the driver and retrieving his stub, making his way slowly to a window seat near the back. He sat down and looked down at the wad of cash in his hand. It was mostly hundreds, a few twenties and tens. All totaling four hundred eighty dollars. He glanced out the window at the sleek black car as he heard the engine fire over the hum of voices on the bus and the diesel engine. "Thanks, bro."_

_Dean pulled up to a stop sign, eyes going to the rearview of their own volition. He saw Sam, watching the car out the bus window, his hand on the glass, moisture condensing around his fingers and in his eyes. Dean's eyes burned as his hands tightened on the wheel. "You stay safe, little brother."_

Dean woke with a start, sensing a difference in the room. He sat up in the chair that he'd slouched in, rubbing the crick from his neck. His eyes lit on his brother in time to see Sam's eyes move behind their lids. His breathing changed again, signaling to Dean that he was waking up.

"Hey Sammy. C'mon."

"Mnh…" Sam's eyelids fluttered.

"Sammy?" Dean questioned, his hand going to the side of Sam's neck, thumb working over the steady pulse beneath the warm flesh.

"D-n?" Sam cracked his eyes open and swallowed hard. Dean wordlessly and gently eased him up against the headboard. He handed Sam the glass of water from the nightstand, his own fingers remaining around the cool glass to steady it in Sam's shaky grasp. Sam nodded and Dean released the glass, watching his little brother raise it to his pale lips and drain half in one go.

"Hey, easy. Don't make yourself sick." Sam held out the glass for Dean to take. He did, and sat it back on the bedside stand.

"Thanks." Sam said, settling back against he pillows, his voice subdued. "How long was I out?"

"Little over a day. How ya feelin'?"

"A little shaky. Don't remember much."

"Man, it was a little hairy there for a while."

"Where's Lili?" Sam asked, looking to the chair where he had last saw her.

"Said she needed some air." Dean walked to the motel room door and looked out, squinting into the orange morning. "Damnit. Lili…"

Sam stood from the bed on unstable legs. "What?" He asked from behind Dean. Dean stalked from the room and up to the Impala, pulling a sheet of paper from beneath the windshield.

_Dean and Sam, _

_It's not over I fear. Our paths will cross again._

_Lili._

Lili pulled her truck over on the side of the mountain road. Sliding out of the seat, she circled to the front of the vehicle. Looking down the mountain, she saw the sleek black beauty and from his stance easily recognized Dean as he walked out to the car and retrieved her letter. She watched a little longer until she saw Sam walk slowly from the motel room. His shoulders were slightly hunched, hands stuck in his pockets. Dean showed him the letter, then folded it up. She saw Dean reach out and grip the back of Sam's neck as the younger hunter turned back toward the room, his older brother steering him back toward the rest he needed.

"Take care of yourself, guys." Lili said, sliding back behind the wheel. She pulled back onto the road, leaving the sunrise in her rearview mirror. She was thrown sideways into the window then across the bench seat, the door panel caving in on her and glass showering her as her truck folded in on itself. Blood bloomed on her left temple and trickled down over her closed eyes.

A pair of scuffed work boots thumped down from the driver's side of the black one ton pickup, thudding loudly on the pavement as they approached the mangled truck, the engine stalled out but steaming as fluids leaked out. The boots crunched over the glass as he looked in through the bent and broken door. Black eyes shone as a malicious smile curled the stubbled lips. "Gotcha."

**A/N: HAHA! Gotcha! "Uh oh" was the first words my nephew said after he dropped his sippy cup the other day. That's what I'm saying to you. Bet your hoping I get cracking on book two!**


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